10 Years Later
by Piper Elizabeth
Summary: 10 years after the final battle at Camp Half-blood, Percy is dealing with the death of Annabeth. But what happens when he finds out that everything he thought was true isn’t? Percabeth
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** 10 Years Later

**Disclaimer:** Percy Jackson and the Olympians and its affiliated characters do not belong to me. I mean no copyright infringement.

**Summary:** The title says it all. 10 years after the final battle at Camp Half-blood, Percy is dealing with the death of Annabeth. But what happens when he finds out that everything he thought was true wasn't?

**Spoilers:** The first three books.

**Note:** I did not read book four until after I started this story so, although I now know what happens in the story, this story has nothing to do with the 4th book.

**Chapter 1**

He uncapped Riptide. Holding it tightly in his hand, Percy ran forward. He could see Luke in the distance, hiding in the shadows. Percy knew that this was his chance; his chance to plunge his sword deep into Luke's heart as payment for what he had done. He heard Thalia scream his name, but he didn't care. He ran further, gaining speed as he went. Nothing was going to stop him from what he knew he had to do.

Percy raised his sword above his head and stopped just before Luke. Luke, whose back was towards him, began to turn around just as Percy noticed her. There she was, only feet away, sprawled out on the ground, blood pooling around her body. He felt his heart break. This was his worst nightmare coming true in front of him. He was too late.

He knew he had two choices – go to her and hold her small, lifeless body in his arms or kill the one who had caused the blood to spill from her body. As Percy turned back to face the man he loathed, he saw a smirk on Luke's face. He felt the pain shoot through his body as he swung Riptide with all the strength he had left.

Percy woke up, drenched in sweat. He threw his blanket off his bed, got up, and walked into the kitchen. He didn't bother to turn on the light as he poured himself a glass of water from the tap. He downed the beverage in one gulp. He leaned on the counter, closed his eyes and began to breathe deeply. He could feel the anger building in her as the sweat trickled down his back. Yelling out loud, he threw the empty glass across the room. It shattered against the wall, the pieces falling to the floor. He buried his head in his hands. He was tired of the nightmares. It had been ten years and the nightmares still plagued him.

Opening his eyes, Percy stared at the broken glass on the floor by the refrigerator, but chose to ignore it. Instead, he wandered into his living room. Plopping down on the couch, he absently turned on the TV. He tried to concentrate on the infomercial playing on the TV, but his mind wandered back to the dream. Just like all the rest, she had died and he hadn't saved her.

He propped his feet up on the coffee table in front of him and snuggled against the back of the couch, knowing that it was going to be another long night.

*****

The next morning, Percy trudged into his classroom, dropping his full messenger bag on the empty, orange, plastic chair next to his cluttered desk. The bag tipped over, spilling the contents onto the floor. Percy cursed under his breath and kneeled to pick up his student's ungraded papers. He had meant to get up early to grade them, but his dream, which was more like a nightmare, got in the way.

"You look like hell."

Percy looked up and saw Rich, one of his only friends, standing in the doorway.

"Thanks," Percy replied, putting the messy stack of papers on his desk.

Rich walked into the classroom and perched himself against one of the student desks.

"Rough night?" Rich asked, folding his arms over his chest.

"Long night," Percy corrected.

"Who was she?" Percy tossed him a glance and shook his head. "I know, wishful thinking."

"So now you're wishing I had a girlfriend? Shouldn't you be wishing that for yourself?"

"I don't need a girlfriend. I've got enough ladies to keep me busy. But you…maybe if you had a girlfriend, you'd get more sleep."

"Doubt it."

"How would you know if you've never had one?"

"Don't you have work to do?"

Percy sat down at his desk and grabbed a pen. He began going over the test at the top of the pile.

"Come on, Percy, we've been teaching in the same class rooms next to each other for five years and I've never even see you look at a girl."

"Maybe that's because the girls I usually look at are sixteen, which is not only illegal, but immensely gross."

"You know what I mean. Percy, you're going to be twenty-six years old. It's time to stop being such a loner."

"I'm not a loner. I'm just…married to my work."

"How can I put this delicately? You're a teacher. You're the best damn teacher in the school. You know more about history than any person I know. Not to mention that you have the highest enrollment in your Greek history elective than any other elective in the entire school."

"And what's your point?"

"My point is that you're good at what you do, but that's not all you have to do. You need to go out more. Date. Live a little." The bell rang and the sounds of students chatting and lockers crashing filled the room.

"Trust me," Percy said as his first student entered the classroom. "I've lived more than a little."

Rich shrugged and walked out of the room. As his students filed in, Percy put his pen down and tried to forget about the nightmare and his life, or lake thereof. Nobody knew about his past, about the excitement that he had gladly left behind and that's the way he wanted it to stay. He didn't need anyone to know that he was a half blood who had tried to save the world, but instead lost the one thing that meant the most to him.

*****

Despite his fatigue, the day passed quickly. Percy concentrated on teaching about the Great Depression, Marie Antoinette, and Franz Ferdinand rather than worrying about the things he couldn't control. Trying to keep himself occupied, he spent his lunch period grading the test papers for his Ancient Civilizations class that he had neglected the night before. His favorite class, Greek Mythology, was the last period of the day, which at least ended the day on a high note.

"Didn't see you at lunch," Rich said as he popped his head in once the last bell of the day rang. Percy barely looked up as he worked on stacking a pile of textbooks on a table in the back of his room.

"I had work to do," Percy responded.

"Too bad. You missed meeting the new teacher."

Percy was only half listening, thinking instead about what he should bring to his mom's for dessert.

"New teacher?"

"Yeah, you know, Mr. Ramirez, the drafting teacher left so they found him a replacement fast." Rich took a seat at Percy's desk and put his feet up on the desk.

"Don't you have your own desk to sit at?" Percy asked.

"She's hot," Rich stated as he took his feet of the desk.

"Who?"

"The new teacher. I don't remember her name. But I do know she's hot."

"You said that already."

"Yeah, well any chick who knows how to work with power tools and looks like that…not to mention she's got a nice…"

"You're sick."

"And you need to be laid." Percy shook his head. "And speaking of getting laid, what are you up to this weekend?"

"The usual," Percy answered.

"Dinner with your mom and a weekend of solitude?"

"Goodbye, Rich."

Rich shrugged. "Suit yourself." He stood up and walked out of the room.

Percy finished stacking the books before shoving even more papers he'd have to grade into his bag. He slung the bag over his shoulder, waked out of the room, and made his way down the long corridor to the back door. As he opened the door and looked out into the teacher's parking lot, he saw a woman open the driver's side door of a red car. Her long, blonde hair blew in the wind. Percy watched as she pulled her hair up into a pony tail and slid an elastic around it. She got into the car, never showing her face. There was something so familiar about the way she moved and carried herself. He was sure he had never seen her before. Even though he didn't often 'check out' women as Rich did, he also wasn't blind. She was attractive. He was sure he would have remembered this woman if he had seen her before. He continued to stare until the car drove off and out of sight.

Author's Note: So, this is my first try at a Percy Jackson fanfic. Although this is very different from the series and really has nothing to do with battles or adventures, I hope that at least someone likes it. Thank you for reading! (Oh, and in case you were wondering, this is going to be a very multi-chapter story – I'm thinking about 15 chapters or so – stay tuned!)


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Percy shut the car door. As the cold wind whipped around him and nipped at his exposed nose, he shivered. It had been an exceptionally cold winter in New York. The temperature barely had risen above ten degrees in the last three weeks.

Pulling his wool hat tighter on his head, he quickly opened the passenger side door and grabbed the white box that contained a blue frosted cake from the seat. He hipchecked the door closed and carefully walked up the icy path to the stairs that were covered in a thin layer of snow. He made it to the front door of his mother's house only sliding once on the ice. He fished for his keys in his pocket. After finding them successfully with his gloved hand, he let himself into the house.

"Hi mom!" Percy called out as he stepped into the living room.

"Percy, is that you?" Sally asked, her voice obviously coming from the kitchen.

"Who else would be calling you mom?" Percy questioned as he temporarily put the cake down on the couch.

He stripped off his gloves, unwound his scarf, and took off his coat. He threw them all in a pile onto the couch, picked up the cake again, and sauntered into the kitchen. His mother was standing at the stove, stirring a pot of spaghetti. Percy leaned over her and kissed her on the cheek. He put the cake on the counter.

"How many times do I have to tell you to stop bringing dessert, Percy?"

Percy took over the stirring while Sally pulled a tray of chicken out of the oven.

"Smells good," Percy complimented.

"Don't change the subject, Percy. My hips don't need any dessert."

"Mom, your hips are fine."

Percy turned off the stove and brought the boiling pot of pasta over to the sink.

"You're my son. You're supposed to say that."

Percy smiled as Sally scooped the chicken off the tray and onto a plate. She brought it over to the table. Percy strained the spaghetti, put it in a bowl, and then placed it in the middle of the table with the chicken. As she grabbed serving spoons, Percy filled each of their glasses with water. They both sat at the table and began to serve the food.

"So, how's Paul?" Percy asked.

"He's good. Working hard of course." She paused and put a mouthful of spaghetti into her mouth.

"And…" Percy pressed, knowing that there was something she wasn't saying.

"And he's thinking of taking a vacation."

"Good for him. He deserves it."

"Well, actually, we're thinking of taking a vacation."

"Oh? Where to?"

"A fifteen day cruise to Hawaii," she blurted out as if she were ashamed of what she was saying.

"Hawaii? Wow. That sounds great, mom. When do you leave?" He twirled the spaghetti around his fork.

"Two weeks."

He smiled, but then looked over at his mother who had put down her fork and was simply staring at her full plate.

"You don't seem too happy about it."

"I'm worried, Percy."

"Worried about…"

She looked up at him. "You."

"Me? Mom, I'm twenty-six. What could you possibly be worried about? It's not like I'm going to be throwing any wild, underage parties at your house while you're gone."

"That's not funny, Percy, and you better not be talking from experience."

"What experience? I spent my childhood chasing monsters." He smiled. "Besides, it's only two weeks. I know you cook me dinner because I can't cook, but I'll survive."

"It's not about the cooking. I know you know how to order pizza."

"And Chinese food," he added proudly.

She smiled. "I knew I raised you well." She paused and simply stared at her food.

"Something tells me there's more," Percy said before taking a gulp of water. She didn't respond. "Come on, mom, what's really bothering you?"

"You."

"Yeah, we covered that already. What is it about me being alone for two weeks bothers you exactly?"

"That's just it."

"That's just what?"

"You…alone."

Percy furrowed his brow. "Mom, when I said I was alone, I didn't mean…"

"Admit it, Percy, you're entirely and completely alone."

"Wow, thanks for downer, mom."

"Honey, I'm being serious."

"So am I. I like my life, mom, just the way it is. And I'm not entirely and completely alone as you so eloquently put it. I have friends. Not to mention that I live with Grover."

"I wouldn't exactly say that you live with Grover."

"He's my roommate. What would you call it?"

"Someone who sleeps in your apartment two weeks out of the year is not what I would call a roommate, Percy."

"He's busy. Busy saving half bloods like me, in case you forgot."

"I just think…"

"Mom, I'm fine. I'm not lonely. Go on vacation. Have fun and stop worrying about me."

Percy shoved food into his mouth, officially ending the conversation. Sally huffed, but continued to eat. Usually their dinner conversations rested solely on how school was going, how Paul was, and other small talk. As Percy swallowed his food and reached for his glass, he couldn't help but picture his empty apartment waiting for him at home.

*****

Balancing the cake and a case of beer in one hand, while shoving his key into the lock, Percy opened the door. He all but threw the cake onto the kitchen counter. Neither he nor his mother had touched it. Their conversation had both left them not wanting dessert. Even though it was a perfectly good cake, he wasn't in the mood. He let his coat fall to the floor. Slumping down on the couch, he pulled a beer out of the six-pack.

"Drinking alone?"

Percy whipped around to see Grover standing behind the couch.

"I thought you weren't going to be home this weekend."

"Well, I got the new kid safe and sound at Camp Half-blood early, so I thought I'd come visit my best friend. So I ask you again, drinking alone?"

Percy took a beer out of the container and handed it to Grover. Grover hopped over the back of the couch and landed with a thud next to Percy. They both propped their feet up on the coffee table and popped the top off their beers.

"Rough day?" Grover asked.

"If you count my friend thinking I need to get laid and my mom telling me that she's worried about me because I'm alone, then yeah, rough day."

"Ouch. But, in your mom's defense, you were just about to drink alone. That's about as sad as you can get." Percy slugged him in the arm. "Hey! That hurt!"

"Yeah, well, forget about me and my loneliness. How are things at camp?'

"Good. The new kid's settling in well. He was a little…shall we say…surprised, but he seems to like his new home. Everything's pretty much the same as always."

"Yeah, almost everything."

"Why don't you just come back and visit, Percy? Everyone's been dying to see you and I know that…"

"No."

"Percy, it's been ten years."

"I said no."

He chugged on his beer, hoping the pain in his head would go away. He hated remembering that night. The night he watched her die and then he was forced to go home to fight for something that he wasn't sure he believed in any more.

Those few weeks at Camp Half-blood before he had lost her forever, had been difficult. Everyone knew that a battle was eminent. Luke and his army were coming to take over Camp Half-blood, but no one knew when. All that they could do was wait. Percy and Annabeth had visited the oracle, hoping that a prophecy would help them in their battle, but none of it made any sense.

With the battle looming closer, Percy had woken up one morning and found that Annabeth was gone. No one had seen her and no one knew what had happened to her except Percy. He knew that Luke had somehow infiltrated camp and taken her, but he never could figure out how. It was just one of the many mysteries that plagued Percy's mind. If Luke had somehow gotten into the camp, why hadn't he attacked then? Why take Annabeth? Why not kill the rest of them in their sleep?

Whatever the reasons, Percy was determined to find Annabeth and save her. So, despite Thalia's protests that they had to stay and protect camp, Percy set off with Tyson, Grover, and a complaining Thalia to find her. They searched for days before they came upon Luke's ship. Without so much as a plan, they boarded the ship. But it was too late. Annabeth's lifeless body was lying on the deck of the ship. More determined than ever, Percy wanted nothing more than to kill Luke. By the time Percy looked from Annabeth to Luke, his sword ready to kill, Luke vanished, but not before leaving Percy with a permanent scar on his arm.

Percy knew that he and his friends were outnumbered and without a plan. The only thing left to do was run. Percy refused to go, but Thalia convinced him that Annabeth was gone and there was nothing he could do. The only thing left to do was go back to camp and stop the same fate from happening to every other half-blood.

Percy never even had the chance to say goodbye or even to touch her one last time before they headed back to camp. The only thing that kept him going was knowing that he had to take revenge. Luke was his to kill.

As the camp prepared for battle, Percy holed himself up in his cabin, thinking of every possible way he could kill Luke. When Luke and his army finally arrived, Percy didn't care about anything but finding him And when he did, after a long fight, Percy drove riptide into Luke's heart. Without Luke as their leader, his army fell apart and the Camp won.

The morning after the battle, as everyone else was celebrating, Percy walked away from Camp Halfblood and hadn't been back since. The memories of her were too strong.

He had spent the last ten years trying to wish them away, but they stood as vivid as they had ever been in his mind. He saw her with her sitting by the lake with her hair blowing in the wind, laughing with friends at dinner, lying on the ground dead.

"Percy, I know this has been hard on you, but she's gone. She's been gone for a long time. It's time for you to accept it…."

"How can I accept it when I see her everywhere?" Percy snapped. "I saw a woman in the parking lot after school today and it made me think of her! Everything makes me think of her! It doesn't matter how much times has passed!"

"You need to try to move on or your mom's right. You'll be alone."

"I didn't save her! Don't you get it? I didn't save her!"

He buried his head in his hands.

"You couldn't save her, Percy."

"If I hadn't listened to Thalia…if I had stayed on Luke's ship, I could have…"

"Gotten yourself killed."

"At least I could have taken her body back. But Thalia kept telling me that we had to go. I should never have listened to her. She didn't even want to save Annabeth in the first place. I mean, what kind of friend would do that?"

"Thalia was just trying to look out for everyone."

"Yeah well…" he tapered off. "She never knew how I felt. She never knew that I had feelings for her."

"You were sixteen. No one knows how each other feels at sixteen. No one even knows how they feel at sixteen."

Percy looked over at him. "You're not helping."

"It'll get better, Percy." Grover said, putting his hand on Percy's shoulder.

"When?"

"When you finish the rest of the six-pack." Percy managed a weak smile and downed the rest of his beer.

Author's Note: Okay, so, I've been formulating this story in my head for a very long time and I've even already written most of it (although there's still a lot of editing to do) and I'm hoping that it all makes sense because continuity is definitely a difficult thing to keep up (not to mention keeping as true as I can to the books themselves even though it's been quite a while since I've actually read the books). Anyway, thank you to all of my readers and reviewers!


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Percy slammed the phone back on the hook. He hated coverage. Giving up his forty-five minutes of prep time to cover someone else's class did not make him happy. Especially since that someone else was in the English department. He hated English partly because he was dyslexic and partly because he just hated reading for no reason. At least reading in history had a point.

He gathered a stack of papers in his arms and a red pen off his desk. If he was going to babysit someone else's class, he was hoping he would at least have the chance to grade some papers that he had neglected. Every time he turned around, he seemed to have more papers to grade.

Trudging out of the room, Percy walked through the mass of students who were hurrying off to their next class. A handful of them said hello to him as he passed. He always nodded politely back, but inside he was still pissed. He really loathed coverage.

The hallways began to thin and the bell rang. Percy knew he was going to be late for the class, but he didn't care. As he turned the corner to the English wing, he caught the glimpse of brown hair and then the feeling of a human body crashing into his own. The papers fell from his arms and fluttered to the floor.

"Oh hell," he muttered under his breath.

"I'm sorry," the woman said whom he bumped into. Without looking at her, Percy squatted down and began to gather his papers.

"My fault," he insisted, picking them up one by one.

"Here, let me help you."

She squatted down next to him. As they both reached for the same paper, Percy finally glanced at her. Of course, he saw her from the bottom up. She was wearing sensible, black flats, skin colored nylons, and a black skirt that really accented her legs. Her sweater was a deep red leading up to the most beautiful face he had ever seen. When he finally looked into his eyes, a shiver went up his spine. The papers they had both collected fell from their hands.

"I'm sorry," he stuttered, beginning to pick up the papers again. "You look like someone I used to know."

She turned to leave, not able to stand being there with him another minute. As she turned, he caught a better glimpse of her face.

"Wait!" Percy yelled louder than necessary. He stood up as she stopped in her tracks, her whole body shaking. "I do know you."

"You must have seen me in the halls or something," she said, trying her best not to face him.

"No, I…there's something familiar about you."

"I'm sorry…I don't know what you're talking about."

He listened to her voice carefully. It was familiar. Very familiar.

"No," he said. "It can't be."

"Please don't," was all she said before she took another step.

His eyes grew wide.

"Annabeth?"

"No," she whispered even more quietly, hoping that he was just a dream. She tried to convince herself that it was just another one of her dreams. He couldn't really be there, standing with her in the hallway. She had spent the last ten years avoiding this moment.

"Annabeth?" He repeated, this time more loudly. She slowly turned around. "But…?" He was at a loss for words. All he could do was stand there and stare at her, unmoving.

"Just forget you saw me," she begged.

"So it is you."

She hesitated, but finally nodded. She knew she should have lied. She should have denied who she was, but for some reason, she didn't.

"But…how…where…Annabeth?"

Again, words failed him. He didn't know what to say or how to feel. All he knew was covering a class was the last of his worries.

"I…I have to get to class," she said, unable to take her eyes off him.

She finally tore her eyes away and began to walk down the hallway.

"Wait."

She stopped, but didn't turn around.

"Meet me," he stated.

"Please, let's not do this."

"Do what? You're…you're alive and…"

"Percy, I..." It felt good to say his name again, to be talking to him again, but it also terrified her.

"After school," he interrupted. "There's a coffee shop down the street. Meet me." He paused. "Please."

She took a deep breath and walked away, not giving him an answer. Percy stared after her, torn between chasing her and doing what he knew he had to do. His brain was running a mile a minute. There were so many thoughts rushing through him. His whole life was turned upside-down.

"Mr. Jackson, are you alright?" A student asked as she passed.

"Yes, I'm fine, thank you."

He looked down the hallway she had disappeared from before continuing on his way.

*****

She didn't know what she was doing. She should have run as far away as possible. She should have told the principal that she had to quit and then she should have vanished from Franklin Roosevelt High. But instead, there she was, pacing on the sidewalk in front of the coffee shop down the street. She could see him plainly through the glass window panes sitting at a booth in the corner of the coffee shop. Thankfully his back was to her. She walked up to the door, reached for the handle, and then stepped back. She wanted to see him, to talk to him, to feel his presence, but common sense stopped her. Common sense told her that she had been dead for the last ten years and that's the way it should have stayed.

Taking a deep breath, she gripped the door handle firmly and finally pulled. The door opened and she stepped inside. He still hadn't seen her. There was still time to escape. But she didn't want to escape.

She slowly made her way over to the booth where he was sitting and stood in front of him. As soon as he saw her, he stood.

"Hi," he said.

"Hi."

She sat down in the booth across from him and he sat again.

"I wasn't sure if you'd come."

"I wasn't sure either."

"Do you want a coffee? Tea? Muffin? Anything?"

Annabeth shook her head. "No, I'm fine, thank you."

He stared at her. He needed to be sure it was her. Her face was older, but it still held the same softness that it always did. It had the same lines, the same small nose and perfectly sized lips. The same almond shaped eyes. And the same beautiful, dirty blonde hair. It was undeniably her.

"It really is you," he said.

"It really is me," she assured him.

"But how? I saw you, Annabeth. I saw you…" he swallowed. "Dead."

"I know."

"You've been dead for ten years."

"I know," she repeated.

Neither of them spoke. Annabeth was afraid to say too much and Percy was torn between anger, fear, and relief.

"Where have you been?" He finally asked.

"Trying to figure out who I was…who I am," she answered.

"But…what happened?"

She took a deep breath and fought back tears. She hated thinking back to that night. But it wasn't the memory that was causing her so much pain. It was the fact that she was about to tell him what she had forced herself to rehearse for the last ten years.

"I don't remember much," she began to explain. She started nervously wringing her hands. "One day I just woke up."

"What do you mean you just woke up? Where were you?"

"Florida."

"Florida?"

"I don't know how I got there. A family found me on some beach. I didn't know who I was or where I had come from or what happened to me."

"Amnesia?"

"The doctors said it was part amnesia and part me not wanting to remember. They threw around phrases like post traumatic stress, but no one knew from what. The family that found me, they tried everything to find out who I was. They looked everywhere for someone who might be looking for me, but no one ever appeared. After a year, they sort of stopped searching and they just accepted me as part of their family."

"And what about your memory?"

"I began to remember some things, but I couldn't make sense of any of it. I would dream about monsters and gods and centaurs, but I thought I was just crazy. But my dreams were so real that they scared me. I didn't want to know about my past. I was so content living this life with this amazing family…it scared me to think of where I might have come from."

She paused, choosing her words carefully. There was one thing she didn't want to lie to him about.

"Until one day I had this dream. I was sitting by this lake all alone. And I could tell that I was happy, happier than I was even in the life I had found myself in. And then this person came along and sat right next to me at the lake."

"Who was it?"

"You."

"You dreamed about me?"

"I dreamed about you often, but I never knew who you were. You were always there in bits and pieces. But this dream, it felt so real. You sat next to me and we talked and we laughed. Nothing much happened in that dream except for us….together on that lake, but I knew that it was real. It wasn't just a dream, it had really happened."

"We spent a lot of time by that lake."

"Somehow I knew that, but I didn't know what it all meant. I spent years just trying to put the pieces together. Trying to figure out who I really was."

""So how'd you end up here? Back in New York?"

"I was visiting New York one day and being here just felt right. I never could explain it, but I knew I was home."

"When did you get your memory back? I mean, you obviously knew who I was when you saw me."

"It's only recently that I've begun to remember everything."

Lying was becoming all too easy for her.

"Why did you look like you wanted to run away from me when you saw me?"

"I've thought about what it would be like to see you again…but it's just so…I can't explain it, Percy. How strange it is to be sitting here with you."

"Did you ever try to look for me when your memory came back?"

"I thought about it. But so much time had passed. And going back to Camp Half-blood was too painful. There was so much sadness for me in that place. And so much had changed. I couldn't go back. I know that doesn't sound like a good excuse, but…"

"I couldn't go back either," he interrupted.

"Why?"

"There was too much sadness there for me, too."

"But you saved the camp. You saved everyone."

"Except for the one person I couldn't save." He sighed.

"Percy, you couldn't have saved me. No one could have."

"You don't know that."

Annabeth lightly put her hand on top of his. It was the first real contact they had had in a long time. They both stared at each other, afraid to speak.

"Look, Percy, I know that what I've told you probably doesn't all make sense to you. And I know it doesn't make up for the fact that you thought I was dead for the last ten years…"

"All that matters is that you're here now."

She finally took his hand off of hers and she suddenly missed the physical contact.

"A lot has changed over the last ten years, you know."

"Guess that means we have a lot of catching up to do."

She smiled. "Yeah, I guess it does."

"And I know someone else who would love to catch up with you."

"Oh?"

"My mom would love to see you. I know she would. Why don't you join us for dinner tomorrow night?"

She was surprised by his invitation. She had met with him once, for purely selfish reasons, but she wasn't sure if she would be able to meet with him again.

"I don't know if I can."

"Why? Do you already have plans?"

"No, I just…"

"Then you should come."

"I wouldn't want to intrude."

"You wouldn't be intruding. My mom and I have dinner together ever Tuesday and Friday and sometimes on Mondays." He paused. "Wow, I just revealed just how little of a life I have."

She laughed and then suddenly wished she hadn't. They were falling back into their same old routine of friendship. It wasn't that she didn't want to be friends with him because she did. There was just something about him that always made her at ease. But she wasn't quite sure what would come of it. And she didn't want him to think that something would.

"Tuesday would be great," she said before she realized what she was saying. She knew she was burying herself in deeper.

"How about I pick you up around six?"

"No!" She hadn't meant to shout it so loudly, but she was so loud that the man in the next booth actually turned and looked at her. "How about I meet you there?"

"Okay." Percy grabbed a napkin from the napkin dispenser on the table and a pen from his bag. He jotted down his mom's address and slid it across the table to her. "Dinner's at 6:30."

"I'll be there." She took the napkin and slid it into her pocket. "But now I have to go. I have somewhere I have to be."

Annabeth began to slide out of the booth.

"I still can't believe it's really you," Percy said, standing up in front of her.

"Believe it," she replied.

"So I'll see you on Tuesday?"

"Tuesday it is."

"Goodbye, Annabeth."

"Goodbye, Percy."

As she began to walk past him, he leaned in towards her, giving her a hug. She wasn't shocked by the gesture, but she was shocked by the feelings it seemed to awake inside of her.

Author's Note: I have to admit that this chapter was a tough one. There was a lot of detail I wanted to get into this chapter and I hope all that detail will make sense later as I move on with the story. Thank you, as always, to all of my readers and reviewers. Happy Holidays, everyone!


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Annabeth threw her bag on the floor and walked straight to the refrigerator. She didn't even bother with her coat even though the apartment felt like it was ninety degrees. She scanned the contents of the fridge. It was mostly full of leftover takeout containers, but that was definitely not what she was in the mood for. Finally she caught a glimpse of what she was looking. Pushing an old Chinese carton out of the way, she pulled out two beers.

"Annabeth, is that you?" A voice rang out from the other room.

"In the kitchen," Annabeth replied. She heard footsteps behind her.

"What are you…?"

Annabeth turned around and held out the two beers.

"Beer?" Annabeth asked.

"I'm not thirsty."

"Thalia, I've had the worst day ever and I am not drinking alone." She shoved the beer at Thalia, who took it hesitantly, and walked into the living room. Finally taking off her coat, Annabeth sat down on the couch. Thalia followed.

"Wow, that bad, huh? What did a kid throw something at you or something?" Thalia asked, slowly sipping her beer.

"Worse."

"A teacher threw something at you?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "I saw him."

"Okay, you're going to have to be a little more specific. There are a lot of hims in this world."

Annabeth chugged almost half her beer. She never acquired the taste for beer, but it did the trick.

"Percy. I saw Percy."

"Percy? Percy Jackson?"

Annabeth glared at her. "Do you know any other Percy's?"

"Wow."

"Yeah…wow," Annabeth said sarcastically.

"Well isn't seeing Percy a good thing?"

"No! Seeing Percy is not a good thing!"

"Why not?"

"We're talking about Percy. Percy Jackson who…"

"Who you've had a crush on since you were twelve years old."

"I have not!"

"Have too," Thalia retorted.

"Have not! And that is not what I was going to say!"

"Oh come on, Annabeth. This is a good thing. You've been wondering how he's been for the last ten years, wondering if he'd remember you, wondering if he thought of you. Well, now here's your chance."

"There can't be any chances."

"And why not?"

"Because I lied to him, Thalia. I lied to him about where I've been and what happened to me."

"Wasn't that the plan?"

"Technically, yes, but I only made the plan because I never thought I would actually ever find him."

"So you made a plan even though you hoped to never have to use the plan?"

"I like making plans, okay?" Annabeth snapped.

"Alright, sorry."

Annabeth sighed. "No, I'm sorry." She buried her head in her hands. "I don't know what to do. I hate lying to him."

"Then why did you?"

"What was I supposed to do? Tell him what happened? Tell him what you and I did? Tell him what…what Luke did?" The name tasted bitter on her tongue.

"Well, you might have wanted to leave out that last part, but telling him the truth about everything else would have been a start."

"And then he'd hate me for the rest of his life. You should have seen him, Thalia. He looked so…tortured. And the more I looked at him, the more I lied. The lies just came spewing out and I couldn't stop them."

"See, you do have a crush on him."

"I do not!"

"If you didn't, then you wouldn't have lied to him."

Annabeth downed the rest of her beer. She hated to admit when Thalia was right. They had lived together since Annabeth had moved back to New York several years earlier. Thalia knew her better than anyone else.

"What am I going to do?"

"Either see him again and come clean or you can try avoiding him for the rest of your life, which I wouldn't recommend. How did you just happen to run into him anyway?"

"He teaches at Roosevelt."

Thalia raised her eyebrow. "Well, avoiding him is out."

"This is serious, Thalia. Not to mention that I sort of agreed to go to dinner with him Tuesday night."

"So wait a minute. You're asking me what you should do when you've already decided to see him again?"

"I didn't decide."

"Sounds to me like you decided."

"I didn't decide," Annabeth repeated. "I…agreed."

"Is there a difference?"

Annabeth chose to ignore her sarcastic comment. "I don't know why I agreed. It just…came out. And besides, it's dinner with his mom so it's not like it's a da…" She couldn't finish.

"Date?" Thalia finished. "His mom might be there, but it sounds like it's a date to me."

"It can't be a…" she still couldn't say the word. "I don't d…"

"Date. It's okay, Annabeth. It's just a word. You can say it."

"This is ridiculous. I'm just going to cancel."

"How? By writing him a note and passing it to him in the hallway?" Thalia paused. "Do you like him?"

"What?"

"Do you like him?"

"I…I…" She sighed.

"Well that's obviously as yes. Just go out with him. You deserve this, Annabeth. You might not think you do, but you do."

"What if he hates me? What if he finds out about…" it was difficult to say his name even after all the time that passed. "Luke."

"That's just a risk you're going to have to take. It's just dinner, Annabeth. Go. Have fun. And then you can go back to being a hermit."

Thalia stood up, leaving her beer on the coffee table.

"I am not a…" Annabeth heard a door close. "Hermit."

She eyed Thalia's beer and began to drink it.

*****

The next morning, Percy couldn't wait for the bell to ring. Every time the bell rang, he was brought one step closer to dinner with Annabeth. He tapped his pencil against his desk, feeling like a teenager getting ready for his first date with the hottest girl in school. His students were quietly working on a written assignment. He eyed the clock, watching the seconds pass by. Finally, the bell rang and the day was officially over. Percy sprang up out of his chair.

"Finish whatever you didn't get to finish for homework," he announced. Some of the students groaned. "See you tomorrow."

His students filed out. He began to quickly gather his things. He wanted to get home to make sure he had enough time to get ready. This wasn't going to be an ordinary dinner at his mother's. And that brought his thoughts back to Annabeth. She looked more incredible than he ever could have imagined. Not to mention that the fact that she was still alive still was a miracle to him. He had hoped that he would have run into her at some point at the school, but he wasn't so lucky. He had even specifically taken an extra walk down to the math wing, but she was nowhere to be found. He hoped it was a coincidence and that she wasn't avoiding him. But he wasn't going to let himself think about that. He was going to let himself enjoy being on top of cloud nine.

"In a hurry?" Rich asked from the doorway.

"Yes," Percy answered quickly.

He didn't even bother taking home any papers to correct. He knew he wasn't going to want to correct papers after dinner. Of course, he was hoping that he wouldn't have time to correct papers because maybe Annabeth would want to join him at his place and…

He let the thought slide from his head when Rich spoke.

"Dinner with your mom, huh?"

"Yup."

He pushed past Rich and walked out into the hallway.

"What's your hurry?" Rich began to follow him. "Dinner can't be that good. Unless…" Rich put his hand on Percy's shoulder, stopping him.

"I have somewhere to be," Percy said, annoyed.

"You have a date, don't you?"

"What?"

"A date. You know, you take a woman out and buy her food and hope she comes back to your apartment to…"

"There are still students around," Percy interjected. "And it's not a date."

"Do I know her?"

"No."

Percy didn't want Rich, or anyone, to know that he and Annabeth were going out on a date. Of course, it wasn't exactly a date. He had just asked her out to dinner at his mom's. That probably constituted as the lamest date ever, but Percy didn't care. At least he would get to spend more time with her. But he didn't want anyone else to know that he was spending time with her. For now he just wanted it to be their little secret. Neither of them needed the rumors that they were dating to spread like wildfire around the school.

Percy continued down the hallway, leaving Rich behind.

"I want to hear all about it!" Rich shouted after him. Percy shook his head as he headed down the stairs towards his car.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Percy quickly unlocked the front door and practically ran into the kitchen, stripping off his outer layers as he went, not caring that they fell carelessly to the floor. He left a trail of discarded clothing in his wake. As usual, his mother was preparing their meal. This time she was tossing a small salad in an oversized bowl. Percy kissed her on the cheek and set down the apple pie he had brought in the middle of the table.

"Percy, I told you I didn't want any more dessert," she scolded, adding a bit of chopped up cucumber.

"I know, but tonight, we're celebrating."

"And what are we celebrating?" She handed Percy the salad bowl, motioning for him to put it on the table.

"Our guest."

"Our guest? We're having a guest for dinner?"

"I was going to tell you, but I wanted to surprise you."

"Good thing I made extra pot pie." She opened the oven and looked at the square pot pie that was almost ready. "So who is this mystery guest?"

"You'll just have to wait and see. She should be here soon."

"She?"

Sally closed the oven and turned around so fast, Percy didn't know what happened. All of a sudden she clapped her hands together and the biggest smile spread across her face.

"Mom, are you okay?"

"You met someone, didn't you?" She exclaimed, not even trying to hide her excitement.

"Well, not exactly."

"Oh Percy, I'm so excited for you! And you look so handsome!"

He had gone home and spent more than an hour in front of the mirror, picking out the perfect outfit and making sure his hair was just right.

"Mom, no one says handsome anymore."

Sally ignored him. "Who is she? What's she like? Why didn't you tell me someone was coming?" She began to run her hands through her graying hair.

"I told you, it's a surprise."

She ran into the adjacent bathroom and looked in the mirror. "I look…old."

"Mom, relax. You look fine."

"For goodness sake Percy, at least tell me something about this mystery woman so I don't make a complete fool of myself."

"You couldn't make a fool of yourself if you tried."

"Percy!"

"Sorry. Fine, I'll tell you one thing. Her name."

He paused as she opened the medicine cabinet and pulled out a tube of lipstick. She began to apply some to her lips.

"Well?"

"Annabeth."

The lipstick fell from her hands, clanging against the sink. The smile and excitement were gone from her face. Sally braced herself on the sink before turning slowly back towards her son.

"Percy…"

"I know what you're thinking, but she's alive, mom. Annabeth's alive and she's…"

"Percy, that's enough."

She pushed her way out of the bathroom and back into the kitchen. Percy followed right behind her.

"But…"

She whirled around, standing toe to toe with him. "Listen to me. I know I've been putting pressure on you to find someone to settle down with. And I know that none of this has been easy for you, but it has been ten years. She has been dead for ten years."

"No, she hasn't."

Sally grabbed Percy's hand. "You have to let her go. You can't just pretend that she's alive, Percy. She's a figment of your imagination and I won't let you…"

The doorbell rang, cutting her off.

"You'll see," he said, letting go of his mother's hand.

Percy made his way into the living room, quickly picking up the clothes he had dropped on the way into the kitchen. He threw his paraphernalia onto the couch and opened the door. When he saw her, he smiled not only because he was thrilled to see her, but because it meant that he wasn't crazy. She wasn't a figment of his imagination. She was standing right there in front of him and she was real.

Percy took in her appearance, bundled from head to toe in matching striped black and pink hat, scarf, and gloves with a black, wool jacket wrapped tightly around her. She held a bouquet of beautiful flowers in her arms. Her hair whipped around her perfect face.

"Hi," he said

"Hi," she replied.

"Come on in."

He stepped out of the way so she could walk inside. Once in, she felt more relieved than when she had been standing on the front steps. Just like outside of the coffee shop, she had wondered if she should go in or if she should just run. They had managed to avoid each other at school and hadn't spoken since the coffee shop, for which she was grateful. She still hadn't exactly figured out what she was doing.

"These are for your mom," Annabeth said as Percy took the flowers from her arms.

"She'll love them. Here, let me help you with your coat." Annabeth took off her hat, gloves, and scarf before Percy helped her take off her coat.

"Thank you," she said.

Unlike his own coat, he hung hers up in the front hall closet.

"Right this way." He led her into the kitchen. His mom was sitting at the table.

"Percy, I wish you would…" she began to say until she saw her. His mother's jaw dropped. "Oh my…" she whispered.

"Mom, you remember Annabeth, don't you?" Percy was smiling ear to ear. He handed his mom the flowers. "And she brought these for you."

"Mrs. Jackson, it's so nice to see you again," Annabeth said.

Percy's mother stood up and put her hands on either side of Annabeth's face. She looked at her just as Percy had looked at her the first time he had seen her, trying to determine if she was seeing what she was really seeing.

"Annabeth…how is this possible?" His mother asked, stuttering over every word.

"It's a long story, mom," Percy interrupted.

His mom finally let go of Annabeth's face as tears rolled down her cheek.

"But…how can this be. I don't…I don't believe it."

"Believe it," Percy stated.

"I mean…it's you. It's really you. You look…the same."

"Well, my wrinkles say otherwise," Annabeth joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Percy laughed and winked at her.

"What happened?" Sally asked. "Where have you been? Why would you…"

She wasn't angry, but there were so many questions circulating in her mind that she didn't know which ones to ask first.

"Mom, she's here all night. No need to bombard her with your interrogation."

"I'm sorry," she apologized.

"It's okay," Annabeth assured her. "I know you must have a lot of questions. I'll try to answer them as best I can."

"Annabeth doesn't remember everything that happened," Percy added.

She put her hand on Annabeth's cheek. "Oh, you poor dear."

"I'm okay." Annabeth smiled. "Really."

Finally, Sally turned to Percy for the first time since Annabeth had come in.

"Percy, I'm so…"

"Sorry that you ever doubted me?"

She nodded.

He walked over and hugged her. "It's okay. But your pot pie might not be okay if you don't take it out of the oven."

His mother practically yelped as she threw an oven mitt on her hand and took the pot pie out of the oven.

"It smells delicious, Mrs. Jackson" Annabeth complimented. Percy winked at her again as he got a vase out of the cupboard, filled it with water, and put the flower inside.

"It's actually Mrs. Blofis now," Sally stated.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Annabeth replied.

"Please, don't be. And Mrs. Blofis makes me sound a hundred years old. Sally will be fine."  
"Can I do anything to help?" Annabeth asked.

"No, please sit down."

Percy put the flowers down in the middle of the table while Annabeth sat down. He began to set another place at the table. A minute later, Sally began to scoop the pot pie onto each other their plates.

"So, Annabeth. What have you been doing for the last ten years?" She asked.

"Mom," Percy warned.

"No, it's alright," Annabeth assured her.

Annabeth wasn't entirely comfortable with all of the questions, but she knew answering them was the only way to make everyone else comfortable, even if she didn't always answer them with the whole truth.

Annabeth told the same story she told Percy only his mother never once interrupted. The only part she left out was about the dreams she had about Percy. There was no reason Percy's mother needed that information. As Annabeth talked about how difficult it was to return to Camp Half-blood, Percy slid his hand across the table and squeezed her hand. The small gesture made Sally smile. For once, she felt like her son wasn't alone anymore.

"So, what are you doing now Annabeth?"

"Teaching actually. At Percy's school. That's how we ah…ran into each other."

"Literally," Percy added.

"Teaching? How funny that you two would end up in the same career. I knew you both had a lot in common."

"Mom," Percy warned yet again. He did not want to be embarrassed in front of Annabeth.

"What is it that you teach?" Sally questioned.

"Drafting mostly, but I do teach a class in architecture."

"How long have you been teaching?"

"Since I moved to New York about three years ago. I was an architect for a while before that."

"An architect? My goodness. Whatever made you decide to become a teacher?"

Annabeth shrugged. "I loved building. I loved designing buildings, but a few years ago I realized that I also loved showing people how to do what I loved. I wanted to make a difference. So, I went back to school and, when I moved to New York, I decided to make the career switch. I had a permanent job in a private school up state, but I was teaching math, which I hated. When the drafting position opened at Roosevelt, I jumped at the chance."

"Well, fate must have brought you to Percy's school."

"Mom," Percy said in the same annoyed tone.

"I'm just saying, Percy, that it's more than a coincidence that you and Annabeth ended up in the same place at the same time.

Percy rolled his eyes.

"This was a lovely dinner, Mrs…Sally. Thank you."

"Oh, it was my pleasure. You know you are always welcome here, Annabeth. Always." She squeezed Annabeth's hand as a tear came to her eye. "Anyway, it's getting late. I should be cleaning up and getting to bed."

"Mom it's barely past eight."

"Well, I'm sure you two have a lot of catching up to do. Why don't you go to the living room? I'll take care of everything here."

"I could help you clean up," Annabeth offered.

"Nonsense. The night is young. You kids have fun."

Sally ushered them out into the living room. Percy sat down on the couch. Annabeth sat across from him on the love seat.

"Your mother is as amazing as I remember," Annabeth stated.

"Yeah, she's great."

"It's good to hear about her and Paul."

"After seven years of marriage, they're still madly in love." They both smiled. "I'm sorry if you felt like you were being interrogated."

"It was fine. Really. She was just curious. And I can't say I blame her. It's not every day someone you thought was dead comes walking back into your life."

"True, but I'm glad you did."

"Yeah, me too." She didn't know what she was doing. She felt like she was digging herself deeper into a ditch she might never be able to climb out of. "I should go. I've got lessons to plan." She stood up. "Please thank your mother for me."

Percy stood and got her coat out of the closet. He helped her into it.

"I had a nice time," he said. He knew his dream of her coming back to the apartment was long gone.

"So did I."

"Maybe we could do it again…without my mother."

She smiled. "I like your mother."

"So do I, but I'd rather spend more time with you…alone."

She shook her head. This was when she was going to have to put an end to it all before things got out of hand.

"I can't. I'm sorry."

"Is there something wrong with going out with an old friend?"

"No, but something tells me that this wouldn't just be about friends."

"Well, what if it was? It can be just like old times? I'll even find a lake we can hang out at."

She couldn't help but smile. "Percy, I don't…"

"It'll be something non-threatening. A non-date. Just two friends catching up over food. It doesn't even have to be dinner. It can even be lunch or breakfast."

"Breakfast?"

"It's about the least threatening meal out there."

She smiled again, this time more light hearted. Maybe things would work out better than she thought.

"Okay. A non-threatening breakfast as friends."

"How about Saturday morning?"

"Saturday sounds great. There's a great little breakfast nook on the other side of town on Main street called…"

"Sunnyside?" He asked.

"You know about it."

"Trust me. I'm a single guy who can't cook to save his life. I know all of the restaurants within a twenty mile radius. How about I pick you up at nine?"

"How about I meet you there at nine?"

Percy nodded. "Sounds like a…" He almost said date, but he stopped. It wasn't a date. "Plan," he finished.

She walked towards the door. He beat her to it and opened it for her.

"Thank you."

"After you," he said, gesturing her to walk through the door. As she stepped onto the cold steps below, he followed.

"You'll freeze out here without your coat on."

He shrugged. "I'll be fine."

"I see you still have seaweed in that brain of yours," she smirked. It felt good to banter back and forth with him after all the time they had lost.

He laughed out loud and walked her to her car.

"Be safe. It gets pretty slippery out there at night."

"I will. Thank you again for dinner."

"You're welcome."

He opened the door.

"Goodnight, Percy," she said as she slipped inside the car.

"Goodnight."

He closed the door and then watched her drive off.

Author's Note: This was a long one, but I really wanted a scene between Annabeth and Percy's mom. Hope you enjoyed it! Thank you for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Percy sat in his car, constantly glancing in the rearview mirror. He felt like the last few days had been the longest three days of his life. Waiting for Saturday was killing him. He barely remembered what he had taught his students during the week, but none of that seemed to matter. Percy knew in his mind that what they were doing was nothing more than catching up over breakfast as friends, but his heart told him a very different story.

As he glanced up at the mirror, he saw her car pull in. She pulled into the empty spot right next to him.

"I'm sorry I'm late," she apologized as they both got out of their cars. "If hogging the bathroom were an Olympic sport, my roommate would win the gold medal."

She nearly cringed when she heard herself mention her roommate. She hadn't meant to mention her at all.

Percy laughed. "I don't know, Grover might give her a run for her money," he replied. "And you're not late. You're just on time."

He opened the restaurant door for them and they both walked in.

"You still talk to Grover?" Annabeth asked as they sat down at a table in the middle of the restaurant.

"He's my roommate actually."

"Wow."

The waitress came over to deliver their menus and to take their drink orders.

"You sound surprised," Percy commented when the waitress had gone.

"It's just great to see that you two are still friends. It's good to know that some things never change."

"Well, don't worry, Grover's still the same Grover. How about you? Do you keep in contact with anyone from camp?"

Annabeth quickly grabbed her menu and began to look it over. "No, not really," she answered quickly.

"I always wondered what happened to some people," he continued.

"Oh?"

"Grover keeps me updated on some things. Chirion's still here, but most people have come and gone."

"What about Tyson?"

"He's the same…working on inventions and things for camp. We keep in touch through letters."

"Tyson writes letters?"

The waitress camp back over with their coffee.

"He tries anyway. It's the only communication we really have since I don't go back to camp." He wanted to change the subject. Not being able to see his half brother was one of the things Percy hated. "I wonder about Thalia, too." Annabeth took a sip of her coffee and nearly spit it out. "Do you know anything about her?"

"No," Annabeth answered quickly.

"I just wonder where she is, what she's doing." Annabeth started to squirm. She felt as if this lie were worse than the others because it was blatant. "I'd like to talk to her."

"What for?"

Percy shrugged. "To find out about that night. She's the one who said you were dead. She's the one who made me leave."

"I'm sure she was just doing what she thought was best."

"Still…it always seemed strange that she was so insistent that we leave."

"Could we talk about something else?" Annabeth asked.

Percy nodded. "Sorry." The waitress came back to take their order. As Annabeth told the waitress what she wanted, Percy took a good look at her. She was still the same, but she seemed sadder. There was a loneliness in her eyes.

"So," Percy began once the waitress had walked away, "tell me about yourself."

"What more could you possibly want to know? I thought you would have been sick of me talking about myself by now. It seems like that's all I ever do when I'm around you."

"Yeah but we've got ten years to catch up on."

"Well, why don't you start? How does a ADHD ridden, dyslexic boy become such an amazing teacher?"

"How do you know I'm amazing?"

"I heard the rumors. You're the students' favorite teacher. And I hear you have quite the knack for teaching Greek history."

He smiled. "Yeah, well it's not hard to teach when you've lived it."

"So, tell me."

"Tell you what?"

"What have you been doing for the last ten years?"

And he told her. Starting from the moment he left Camp Half-blood, he told her about how he finished high school in a normal, private school where the only thing that bothered him were senior jocks. He never did blow up the gymnasium or do anything else as crazy again. He explained how he tried to put his past as a halfblood behind him and try to fit into the real world. He went to college at NYU and studied history with a concentration in Greek history. He tried to get as far from his roots as possible, but he couldn't deny his interest in who he was. Eventually he fell into teaching even though he thought that was the last thing he would ever do. And finally, four years earlier, he had landed the job at Roosevelt and had stayed there ever since.

The time passed quickly, each of them sharing memories with one another. As it neared lunchtime, neither of them were ready to leave.

*****

Nearly a month later, Percy walked into the copy room at school and saw her kneeling on the floor, cursing at the copier. He stood a few feet away from her, not letting his presence be known. It was much more fun to listen to her yell vulgarities at an inanimate object in the cute tone she got when she got mad. He also didn't exactly have the worst view with her practically bent over the machine. And then he had to remind himself, as he did almost every day, that he shouldn't be having those thoughts of her. Nor should he be having the dreams he had been having about what it would be like to peel the clothes off her body one inch at time.

Their relationship had certainly grown in the last month, but not exactly in the way Percy had planned. They were friends. Probably more friendly than Percy had ever been with another person, but that was all they were. They stuck to having breakfasts and eating lunch together almost every day in the teacher's room and going on walks in Central Park or to museums on the weekends, but they never went to dinner. They never held hands on their walks or whispered sweet nothings into each other's ears. Heck, she wouldn't even let him pay for their meals.

"Ow! Damn it!" She shouted, pounding her fist against the machine.

"Need some help?" He asked.

She turned around so fast she landed flat on her butt.

"How long have you been standing there?" She demanded to know, scrambling to her feet.

"Long enough to hear you sound like a truck driver." She scowled and put her hands on her hips. "Did the copy machine pick a fight with you again?"

"It's saying that it has a paper jam, but there is no paper in this machine anywhere!"

"Let me try."

Annabeth stepped out of the way as Percy began to examine the copier.

"What are you doing down here anyway?" Annabeth asked. "What's wrong with the copier upstairs?"

"Broken," Percy lied. Well, he didn't know if it was a lie. He had no idea what the condition of the copier was. The truth was, he had gone downstairs to see Annabeth.

"And what exactly were you planning on copying?" Annabeth asked, noticing that he had nothing in his hands.

"Alright busted. I could hear you yelling all the way upstairs so I thought I'd check out what was going on."

"Liar," she said smiling. She liked that he was there even if he had no reason. Percy moved the machine away from the wall. "What are you…?" Percy pulled the machine's electrical chord out of the wall. "Doing?"

"Sometimes the only way to fix these things, is to give it a minute to calm down and then restart." He counted to ten and then plugged it back in. After a moment of letting it restart, he looked at the screen. He pressed the copy button and the machine hummed to life. Within seconds, it spit out the copy Annabeth wanted. "See, good as new."

"Well, thank you Mr. Fix-It," she said. She reached for the copy that Percy made, but he snatched it up.

"Not until I get the magic word," he said.

She rolled her eyes. "I do not have time for this this morning."

"Well, say the magic word and you can have it."

She put her hands on her hips. "Please?"

"Nope, wrong word." He held the paper high above his head. Annabeth reached for it, but she wasn't tall enough.

"Percy, come on. You're acting worse than some of my students. Now hand it over."

"No word, no paper."

She lunged for it again, but missed. Finally, she remembered one very important fact from when they were kids. Percy was ticklish. Very ticklish. She reached for his stomach and began move her fingers back and forth, tickling him.

"No!" He yelled, laughing. "That's not fair!" He could barely get the words out he was laughing so hard. Within seconds, he dropped the paper. Annabeth reached for it, but Percy caught her arm and began to tickle her. She wasn't quite so ticklish, but it did the trick. Before long, they were both laughing hysterically, trying to tickle the other one.

Outside the room, Rich heard the noise coming from down the hallway. Never one to avoid a scene, he stopped outside the door and smiled.

"Well, well," he said.

Annabeth and Percy immediately stopped. She took a few steps away from him and began to straighten her blouse.

"What are you doing here so early?" Percy asked. Rich almost never came to school early unless it was mandatory.

"I had some things that needed to get done this morning. Ms. Chase, I see you're settling in well."

"Yes, thank you," she replied, obviously blushing. She picked the paper off the floor. "I should be going." She walked past them both with her head down.

"The girl you've been seeing is her?" Rich questioned.

"We're not seeing each other and it's not of your business anyway," Percy said, beginning to walk out of the room. Rich put his arm out to stop him.

"What do you mean you're not seeing her?"

"I mean we're just friends. Now let me by."

"Dude, do you realize how hot she is?"

"You do realize you're talking about a co-worker, don't you?"

"I repeat, do you realize how hot she is?"

That was one thing that Percy hadn't stopped noticing. "So what?"

"So, you've got a hot chick who obviously has some sort of attraction to you although I can't tell why…"

"Wait, you think she's attracted to me?"

Rich smacked his hand against his head. "You really are clueless aren't you?"

"Look, she's just a friend. We knew each other when we were kids and we're just getting…reconnected."

"Is that what they're calling it these days?"

"There is nothing going on."

"Well that's a shame. If you're going to hang out with a girl that hot, you should at least get laid in the process."

"Enough!" Percy yelled. When he heard Rich say things like that, he was never sure what he and Rich had in common that made them friends.

"If you're not dating, you won't mind me asking her out then, will you?"

"What?"

"Well, she's fair game, right?"

"First of all, she isn't just some game. And second of all, Annabeth Chase is not just some notch to check off on your bed post."

"If you're not dating then it shouldn't matter to you."

"We're not dating, but she is still my friend."

"Fine. If I promise not to sleep with her, you wouldn't care if I asked her out, would you?"

He wanted to shout 'yes,' but instead Percy said, "No, not at all."

"Good. I wonder what kind of underwear she wears."

Rich began to walk out of the room. He only made it halfway down the hallway before Percy ran after him, stopping him.

"You can't ask her out," Percy stated matter of factly.

"And why is that?" Rich asked, even though he already knew the answer. He just wanted to hear it from Percy.

"Because…she's my friend and…"

"And…?"

"And I have feelings for her, alright?

Rich shrugged. "Alright. That's all I wanted to hear." He turned and began to walk in the opposite direction. "Oh, and one more thing. You better ask her out as more than just friends before somebody else does."

Percy waited where he was until Rich walked out of sight. He knew he had two choices – go back up to his room and continue on his day as if nothing had happened or take Rich's advice and finally make the leap from friendship to something more. Taking a deep breath, Percy walked towards her room.

"Come out with me on Saturday," Percy nearly shouted.

Annabeth looked up from her desk.

"What?"

"Come out with on Saturday," he repeated, this time more quietly.

"Isn't Saturday…"

"Valentine's Day. Yes, I know."

"Percy…"

"Look, if you don't come out with me, I'll end up spending the night completely along, drinking my loneliness away or worse, I'll end up spending it with my mom and her husband. So come out with me."

"Valentine's Day isn't exactly my favorite holiday," Annabeth replied. Going out with him on Valentine's Day would mean one thing – that their feelings for one another were moving beyond friendship.

"It's not mine either. But why not be miserable together?" The words weren't coming out exactly as he planned. He wanted this to be their first official date, but it was sounding like anything but.

"As appealing as that sounds…"

"It's just dinner, Annabeth. What's so different about dinner than lunch?"

"There's a big difference," she answered.

"Please," he begged. He hated to say it, but he had to. "As friends?"

"I don't know, Percy."

"What's wrong with two friends going out to dinner together?"

"On the most romantic day of the year?"

"It's just a day."

She sighed. "Okay."

"Pick you up at eight?"

"How about I meet you at your house?"

"You really don't want me to see your apartment, do you? What are you, some kind of hoarder or something who's ashamed of her house?"

"No. My roommate's just always there. I don't think you two would…get along."

"How do you know if we've never met?"

"Trust me. I'll see you Saturday at eight. Now leave me alone so I can finish this."

Percy smiled. It may not have been an official date, but it was dinner and that was definitely better than breakfast.

Author's Note: To tell the truth, I love the second half of this chapter much more than the first half, but I felt the first half was necessary. A big thank you goes out to everyone who has reviewed my stories. I really appreciate each and every review (especially since I read them when I'm bored out of my mind at work and they really make my day!)


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Annabeth stared at herself in the mirror. She had changed six times. From a dress to a long, grey skirt to Jeans to black dress pants to a short skirt and finally to a black skirt that fell just below her knees. Nothing she put on said 'friend,' but as she slipped the black skirt over her hips, she wasn't sure if she wanted to just be friends.

Annabeth began to pull the bobby pins out of her hair that she had so meticulously placed there only a half hour before. Her hair fell down around her face. She quickly brushed through it, letting it fall freely. She had debated on whether to wear her hair up or down the entire afternoon. Finally, looking at the way her hair framed her face, she knew down was the right choice.

The next thing to tackle was her makeup, one of Annabeth's least favorite things. She wished Thalia was there to help her, but she was off on business, taking photographs of some foreign country for a travel magazine. Annabeth reached for her cover up and realized just how much of it she had used in the last week. As a general rule, Annabeth hated makeup. She hated applying it and she hated feeling like she had to wear it to make herself look better. But she wanted to look good for him. Although she never wore makeup on a regular basis, Annabeth had put it on every day for school, just in case she ran into Percy. Unfortunately, with the new history curriculum that the school was trying to create, she barely saw him over the last week. She hadn't decided if that was a good or bad thing.

"Well," Annabeth said after applying some cover-up and mascara. "This will just have to do."

She stood up, grabbed her purse and coat, and took a deep breath. She walked out of the door, hoping that she was making the right decision.

*****

Percy paced back in forth in his room. Every time he would pass the mirror over his bureau, he would stop and look at himself. He knew that since he and Annabeth were 'just friends,' he shouldn't care what he looked like, but he did. Because he knew that she would never just be his friend. She hadn't just been his friend since they were children.

As he continued to pace, he wondered if he was dressed too formally. Black dress pants with a button up striped shirt and suit coat over it seemed a little formal, but he didn't know what else to wear. It didn't exactly seem like a Jeans and T-Shirt kind of night. Percy looked over at the pile of ties on the bed. He had decided to go without one, but suddenly he was second guessing himself. He wished Grover was there to at least give him some advice.

He looked over at the roses on the bed and smiled. He sat down on the bed and brought the roses up to his nose. They smelled amazing. Almost as good as…

The doorbell rang. With the flowers in hand, Percy slowly walked out of his bedroom, down the hallway, and into the living room. He paused at the front door. He knew there was no going back after he opened the door. And he didn't want to go back.

Percy opened the door and smiled.

"Hi," he said.

"Hi."

"Come on in."

He stepped aside as she walked in. As she brushed past him, he smelled a perfume he couldn't quite pinpoint. Regardless of what it was, it smelled incredible. He wanted to tell her how beautiful she looked, but that seemed inappropriate.

She shook the snow that had begun to fall off her coat.

"It already started snowing?" Percy asked. "I thought the news said it wouldn't start until later."

"Yeah well, a weather man is the only job you can be wrong one hundred percent of the time and still have a job." Percy laughed. "You have a nice place," she commented.

"Thank you. These are for you." He handed her the roses.

"They're beautiful. But you shouldn't have."

"Think of them as roses between friends."

He had gone back and forth about whether or not he should buy her flowers. If they were going on a real date, he wouldn't have had a second thought about it. But he kept having to remind himself, this wasn't a real date. He spent most of the week thinking of reasons why she wouldn't want to go on a date with him. His thoughts ranged from her not liking him in that way to her seeing someone else even though she had never mentioned anyone else. The last thought made his blood boil so he tried not to think about it.

"Thank you," she said.

"So, are you ready?" He asked.

"Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise. Come on." He stuck out his arm and she looped her hand through it. They walked out together and towards the car.

The restaurant Percy had chosen wasn't too far. It was a small, Italian place he had stumbled upon one of the many evenings he hadn't felt like cooking. It had since become his favorite restaurant. It was the perfect blend of fine Italian food, friendly staff, a romantic ambiance, and privacy. They drove the twenty minutes in silence, Percy glancing over in her direction more than once. He couldn't take his eyes off of her.

Percy pulled the car up in front of the restaurant. A valet quickly went around to the side of the car and opened Annabeth's door. She left the flowers on the front seat as the valet helped her out. Percy handed the keys over to the valet and led her inside.

After Percy gave his name to the hostess, they were lead to their table. Percy helped Annabeth out of her jacket, he handed it to the hostess, and then took off his own coat. The hostess took off with both of them. When Percy turned back around, he couldn't help but stare at her. Her outfit certainly was not a 'friends' outfit. Her black skirt showed off the right amount of leg to drive Percy crazy. And, even though it was high-necked, the sweater she was wearing hugged her in all the right places. Her hair that he had first come to love so many years ago begged to be touched. She looked stunning. He tried to remember if she had always been this beautiful, even when they were children and he realized that she had been. He had always just been too much of a coward to realize it.

"Is everything alright?" Annabeth wondered, hoping that he liked what she was wearing. She wondered if she should have gone with the pants. Pants were definitely less date-like.

"You look…beautiful," he said.

Annabeth felt herself blush, but Percy wasn't going to take it back. She did look beautiful. He pulled out her chair and waited for her to sit before taking a seat across from her. She looked around, taking in the atmosphere. The table was lit by a single candle and a string quartet played in front of a dance floor in the corner. Even though it was Valentine's Day and the place was crowded, it felt like they were completely alone. This was definitely the perfect place for a date. But Annabeth had to keep reminding herself that it wasn't a date. And that she was the one who wanted it that way.

"This is a nice place," Annabeth commented, trying to ignore his last comment. She knew that from the outside he thought she looked beautiful, but that was only because he hadn't seen what was underneath it all. "Do you come here often?"

"Often enough that the chef knows me by name."

"Do you bring all your dates here?"

She didn't know why she asked the question. Suddenly she could picture him sitting there with a dozen other women, each of them more beautiful than the last. And why shouldn't he? He was free to do whatever he wanted.

"First of all, as you said yourself, this isn't a date. And second of all, I don't really date much."

The waiter introduced himself and brought over their menus.

"And why is that? With your looks and charm, I'm surprised you don't have women crawling all over you."

"You think I'm charming and I have good looks?" He teased.

"I never said that."

"Yes you did."

"No, I didn't."

"Yes you did."

"Okay, can we stop? We're not twelve anymore."

He cracked a smile and she laughed. It felt good to act twelve again.

"I don't go on dates," he began in all seriousness. "Because I haven't found anyone worth taking on one."

She sighed. "I don't date either."

"Because…?"

"That is a story for another night."

Percy was going to press the matter, but the waiter came to take their order. As they waited for their food and then began to eat, their conversation continued as it usually did when they were together. They would talk about school and their students. Annabeth would tell him about some of the architect projects she worked on before moving to New York. Percy even made her promise to take her to one of the buildings one day. It was amazing how much they could talk about almost nothing for hours without realizing how much time had passed by.

"That was delicious," Annabeth complimented as the waiter took her near empty plate away. "I can't believe how much I ate. If this were a date, I would be embarrassed."

"Well, good thing this isn't a date then."

"Good thing."

Percy looked over at the string quartet. He watched several couples floating on the dance floor, completely consumed with each other.

"So, as my non date, would you like to dance?" He asked.

She contemplated his proposal for a moment. There was nothing wrong with dancing as friends, was there?

"As your non date, I'd love to."

He stood up and reached out his hand. She closed her fingers around his and he helped her to her feet. They walked hand in hand towards the dance floor. Nervously, Percy put his left hand lightly on her waist as she put her arm around his shoulder. They took a step towards each other and began to move to the music.

"Did I tell you how beautiful you look tonight?" He asked.

"Is that you telling me as my non date?"

"No. That's me telling you as a man looking at the most beautiful woman he's ever seen."

She felt a lump rise in her throat. That was definitely crossing the non-date line she had tried to create. But, at that moment, in his arms, she didn't care.

She leaned her head against his chest, nuzzling against his neck. He pulled her closer. She felt safe in his arms, reveling in how close they were. She hadn't been that close to him in ten years and she missed it. Every fear she had about him disappeared for just a moment and she had never been happier.

Author's Note: Well, I don't have much to say about this one except that I really appreciate each and every review I've received. Thank you and Happy New Year!


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 7**

Annabeth looked out the window, watching the white flakes falling down from the sky above onto the cold, wet ground. She loved the snow. She loved how still it made the world feel. She loved that it coated everything in pure white. She only wished it would stick around longer before people started pushing it out of their way as if it were nothing special.

She shivered when she felt Percy's breath warm on her neck. He brought his arm around her, holding a steaming cup of coffee in his hand. Annabeth quickly grabbed the black mug and turned around.

"Thank you," she said, hoping her cheeks weren't turning red. Feeling him so close to her scared her and yet, it sent a feeling through her body that she had never felt before.

"It's really coming down," Percy observed, looking out the window.

"We're supposed to get more than a foot by morning."

"I hope I remember where my shovel is stored," Percy joked.

He walked over to the couch and sat. Annabeth took one last look out the window and followed him. She sat on the opposite side of the couch, as far away from him as possible. He made her nervous. The kind of nervous that made her stomach do flips and her heart skip a beat.

She wondered what made her say yes when he asked her in for coffee. After they had outlasted every other couple on the dance floor, Percy drove them back to his apartment. Before she could even get out of the car, he asked her to stay for coffee. She said no initially, claiming that the snow was getting bad and that she should get home. But when he asked her again, even though she meant to say no, the word yes somehow escaped her lips.

"So…" Percy began, wondering what it was that he had done to cause her to sit so far away from him. She looked nervous and he didn't know why. Maybe she wasn't feeling the same way he was. "Did you miss the snow when you were in Florida?"

"I didn't miss shoveling it or driving in it, but yes, I did miss it."

"I think I'd miss it, too. There's something about the snow…it cleanses everything."

Annabeth nodded. Neither of them said anything for a full minute. Neither of them knew what to say. Percy knew what he wanted to say. He wanted to talk about how he wasn't sure if he could just be her friend.

"Good coffee," Annabeth stated, trying to break the uncomfortable silence.

"Instant," Percy replied. He couldn't understand how they had been so comfortable at dinner and so tense said they walked into the apartment together.

"Do you remember the first time we had coffee?" She asked.

He laughed out loud remembering the moment. "If I recall, the first time you had coffee, you spit it out and sprayed it all over me and then vowed that you would never drink it again."

"And if I recall, you took one sip and made the ugliest face I've ever seen."

"Yeah, well I never did get the stain out of the T-Shirt you spit all over."

"Hey, blame Grover. He was the one who convinced us to try it."

"Remind me to bill him for the shirt next time I see him."

"Next time you see him? Isn't he your roommate?"

"Some of the time. But he spends a lot of the time at Camp."

"Oh."

"Hey, do you remember the time he…"

"Slept walked into the dining hall with Clarisse's hat on?" Annabeth finished. "I thought Clarisse was going to kill him! I'd never seen her so mad."

"Last month he slept walked into the hallway with his shorts on his head."

Annabeth burst out laughing. "Your poor neighbors!"

"Yeah, well, thank the gods for the mist or else my poor neighbors would have seen a half goat running around with shorts on his head."

They both laughed out loud until tears welled up in their eyes.

"The mist has saved us more times than I count."

"Yeah, but it's also gotten us into trouble more times than I can count. Remember when they thought I blew up the gym?"

"Well, you were a little rebellious," she teased.

"And you weren't?"

"At least I didn't kill my math teacher," she said with a smile. "Or attempt to battle a minotaur single handedly or allow myself to be turned into a guinea pig or..."

"You're infuriating, you know that?" He interrupted jokingly.

She giggled. "I know."

"Hey, at least I didn't fall off a cliff."

This time they both laughed. It felt good to laugh about things that had once terrified them. And it felt good that they were laughing together.

They continued to share the memories of their childhood for over two hours. They fell back into their usual routine of talking as they reminisced about anything and everything. They had both laughed so much Annabeth's side hurt. As Percy continued to retell a story about Chirion, Annabeth glanced at the clock. It was almost two.

"Wow, I didn't realize how late it was," she stated. She looked over at Percy and noticed for the first time just how close he had gotten to her on the couch.

"Time flies when you're having fun," Percy commented.

"I should go," Annabeth said as she stood up. She wiped the tears away from her eyes that had been caused by laughter and reached for her coat that was draped on the back of the armchair.

Percy stood and glanced out the window.

"It looks like it's still snowing."

"Welcome to New York in the winter."

Percy walked over to the window and took a better look outside.

"It looks really bad."

"I'll drive slowly."

Annabeth pulled her coat on.

"I think you should stay," Percy blurted out.

She looked up at him sharply.

"I'll be fine," she said quietly. The thought of staying there in his house scared and excited her all at the same time.

He walked closer to where she stood.

"I'd feel better if you stayed."

"Percy…"

He put his hand on her arm.

"Stay," he whispered.

She took a deep breath and nodded. Her throat went dry as her eyes locked with hers. She wanted to look away or, at the very least, blink to break the intensity that was flowing between them, but she couldn't. He took one more small step forward and she felt the familiar butterflies in her stomach and a rush of blood to her head. She felt woozy and warm. He began to trace circles on her bare arm with his thumb. He whispered her name and she shivered.

Annabeth knew what was about to happen. Her heart wanted him to kiss her. Even her body longed to feel his lips against hers, but her brain told her no. Her brain told her that she wasn't being fair to him.

She pulled away and stepped back seconds before his lips met hers. He let go of her. She looked down at the carpet, afraid to meet his eyes.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly.

"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have…"

"It's not you, Percy. You have nothing to be sorry about. It's…me. I'm just not used to this."

"Used to what?"

"This. Us. I told you, friendship is all I have."

"But what if that's not all I want?"

She began to button her coat. "I'm sorry, we should never have done this."

She headed for the door.

"Annabeth, wait."

"No. I told you, Percy. We can't be anything more than friends."

"Why not?"

"Because we just can't. And if you expected anything more…"

"Annabeth, I don't expect anything. I don't have any expectations. I'm not looking for promises. If you don't want more than friends, I won't push it. You're back in my life and that's all that matters. Now please, don't go."

"I just don't think it's a good idea if I stayed."

He put his hands together. "This is me, as a friend, begging you to stay because I want you to be safe. Please."

She took a deep breath. "Okay."

"Good." She took off her coat and placed it over the arm of the couch. "And I promise you," he began, trying to lighten the mood. "I've washed my sheets at least once in the last six months." She laughed. "Let me just grab a pillow for the couch and the bedroom is all yours."

"Don't be silly, I'll take the couch."

"I was just kidding about the sheets thing. Well, okay, I can't remember the last time I washed my sheets, but I promise that they're not that dirty."

"It's not about the sheets. It's your bed, you should be able to sleep in it."

"If my mom ever found out that I made you sleep on the couch, she'd kill me. Take the bed."

"Okay, fine. But only because I don't want your mom to kill you."

He smiled. "Right this way."

He walked past the couch and down the hallway, stopping in front of a closed door. Opening the door, Percy walked into the dark room. Annabeth followed. Percy turned on the bedside lamp, revealing a large, spotless bedroom.

"It's very clean. I'm impressed."

"Yeah, well, I don't spend enough time here to make it dirty."

Annabeth took in her surroundings. The walls were a pale blue. The room had two mahogany dressers with a matching mahogany bed. The room was masculine, but beautiful. She sat on the edge of the bed as Percy opened the closet door and grabbed an extra pillow and blanket.

"Not to ask a silly question, but if Grover is your roommate, where's his bedroom?"

"Trust me, you do not want to see Grover's bedroom. You'd be better off trying to make it home in the snow."

She laughed as Percy opened one of the dresser drawers and pulled out two T-Shirts and a pair of shorts. He threw one of the T-Shirts and the shorts at Annabeth.

"What are these for?"

"They're called pajamas."

"And why are you giving them to me?"

"Because you need pajamas."

"I'm fine."

"You're in a skirt, Annabeth. And although it looks fabulous on you, it doesn't look that comfortable." He winked at her and she couldn't help but smile. "The bathroom's down the hall and there's an extra toothbrush in the medicine cabinet."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Percy left the room and walked back over to the couch. He dropped off his blanket and pillow before heading to the bathroom. He stripped out of his dress pants and shirt and threw the T-Shirt on. He quickly washed his face and brushed his teeth before heading back into the living room. He sat down on the edge of the couch and began to take off his watch when he heard his bedroom door open. He looked over as Annabeth walked out, going towards the bathroom. He couldn't help but stare at her in his T-Shirt and boxers before she disappeared into the bathroom.

Author's Note: This was the first chapter that I wrote of this entire story (yes, I do write stories out of order). I appreciate all of the suggestions I've been getting in my reviews and I tried to add in some "memories" from some of the books. I have to admit that the reason I don't go into details about specifics form the books is because I don't remember too many details from the books. I tend to read books way too fast and I forget a lot of the details, but I'm going back and trying to find as much detail as possible. Thank you as always for reading! Oh, and I'm leaving on vacation for a few days tomorrow so it will be a few days before I can update again.


	9. Chapter 9

**NOTE: **This chapter contains some mature subject matter (and no, it's not sexual). It's nothing graphic by any means, but I just wanted to warn you.

**Chapter 9**

He saw her from the distance, lying on the ground. He could tell, even from so far away, that she was pale. Her body lay lifeless. He didn't care what was going on around him. He ran as fast as his legs would carry him towards her. He saw Luke out of the corner of his eye, but he kept running forward. When he reached her, he dropped to his knees. He swept her knotted hair away from her face and took her cold, clammy hand in his.

"Annabeth," he whispered as a tear escaped his eye and landed on her chest.

He could tell she was injured, but he didn't know from what. There was no blood. No cuts or wounds that he could see. He checked her from head to toe, but saw nothing. Yet, her eyes were closed. He leaned his head against her chest. She wasn't breathing.

"Annabeth, please," he begged. He picked her up and cradled her in his arms. He let the tears fall as he silently prayed to the gods to bring her back to him.

"She's gone," he heard Thalia say even though he couldn't see her. "Percy, she's gone."

"No!"

"We have to go!"

"No! I'm not leaving her!"

"Percy." The voice wasn't Thalia's. He looked down at Annabeth. Her eyes were open, staring straight at him.

"Annabeth?"

"Percy, please help me!" He stared at her as she spoke, but her lips never moved. Her eyes pierced through him, but they were different. They weren't the beautiful, mysterious grey eyes he was used to. They were cold and black.

"I'm here. I'm right here," he said.

"Please! Luke, no!" Again, her lips didn't move, but he could hear her voice clearly.

"Annabeth, it's me. It's Percy."

"Noooo!"

Percy's eyes shot open. His breathing was erratic. He put his hand to his throbbing head. It was all a dream, but it was more vivid than anything he had ever had before. He felt like he had really been holding her, talking to her.

"Please, no!"

Percy's head whipped around to the direction of his bedroom. It wasn't just a dream. She had been yelling. Calling for him.

He lunged off the couch, tripping on the blanket that had somehow been thrown on the floor in the middle of the night.

"Help! Help me!"

Percy ran to the door and flung it open. He spotted her, thrashing on the bed as if someone were hurting her. Percy ran to the side of the bed and put his hand on her arm. It was burning hot.

"Annabeth," he said quietly, but sternly. She continued to moan and whimper, hot tears streaming down her face. He cupped her face with his hands and leaned close to her face. "Annabeth, open your eyes." Her body began to stop flailing. "You're safe. You don't have to be afraid. I'm here." Her body stopped altogether. "Open your eyes," he repeated.

Her eyes fluttered open. He smoothed her wet hair away from her face. Her breathing was as rapid as his had been when he woke up. Her body began to shake.

"Percy," she whispered.

"It's okay," he assured her, continuing to run his hand through her hair. "It was just a dream. You're okay." She swallowed, but her throat was dry. "Let me get you some water." As he began to walk away from the bed, Annabeth reached out and put her hand on his arm, stopping him. "I'll be right back. I promise."

She let go of him. He quickly walked into the kitchen and grabbed a glass. As he filled it with filtered water from his refrigerator, he finally took the moment to think about what had just happened. He was awoken from a dream he was having about Annabeth's death for a dream she was having that obviously had something to do with Luke. At the thought of his name, Percy shuddered. He hated thinking about Luke. Percy never knew exactly what Luke had done to Annabeth. He had only been left to imagine the terrors that could have occurred. Hearing her screaming about it only made it worse.

The glass began to overflow and Percy quickly turned off the nozzle. He grabbed another cup and poured some of the excess water into it. He drank the extra water in one gulp before returning to his bedroom. Annabeth was sitting up, leaning against the headboard, her knees drawn up to her chest. She had turned on the lamp and Percy could see for the first time just how pale and frightened she looked.

"Here," Percy said, handing her the glass. She took it with a shaky hand as he sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Thank you," she replied quietly. She took a sip before putting the glass on the bedside table. Her hand was so unstable she was afraid she'd drop it.

"Are you okay?" He knew it was a dumb question, but he didn't know what else to say.

Annabeth nodded. "I'm sorry you had to see that."

"Annabeth, you don't have to be sorry."

"It's not usually that bad."

"So you've had the same nightmare before?"

"Nightmare seems like an understatement." Her hand seemed steadier so she reached for her glass and took a drink. "And it's not always the same. But yes, I've had them before."

"How often?"

She shrugged. "I used to get them a lot more frequently. But now, only every so often. I almost always have them when I'm in an unfamiliar place. That's why I don't like to stay in unfamiliar places." She smiled weakly.

I know the feeling." If he ever stayed at his moms, the nightmares were always worse. "I have them, too."

"You do? About what?"

He looked up at her. "About the day I thought I lost you."

"Oh Percy." She put the glass down and put her hand over his.

"I heard you yell Luke's name. Yours nightmares are about him, aren't they? About when he took you?"

She didn't respond. Instead, she took his hand away from his.

"Annabeth…" he coaxed.

"Trust me, you don't want to know."

"But I do."

"No…you don't."

"I've thought about it for ten years. Ten years, Annabeth, I've been plagued with these thoughts of what he did to you. I've spent hours sitting in one sport, just thinking about it when I didn't even realize what I was doing. I know it sounds morose and…and just wrong in every sense of the word, but I can't stop myself from thinking those things. Just like I couldn't stop him from doing them to you."

"Percy, there was nothing you could have done."

"That's what everyone says…that there was nothing I could have done. But there is. I could have gotten there sooner. I could have fought harder. I could have…"

"You saved Camp. You made life safe for halfbloods everywhere. I think that's fighting hard enough."

"Do you think that mattered after I lost you?" He put his head down and looked at his hands resting in his lap. "I just need to know, Annabeth. Tell me what he did to you."

"What will knowing do, Percy when it can only hurt you more?"

The image of finding her popped into his head. Her hair dirty and snarled. Her skin covered in bruises. Her clothes tattered so much they barely covered her. They were so tattered that he saw the bruises along her upper thigh and he had to know.

"Did he touch you?"

"Percy…"

The tears fell faster than she could wipe them away. She hated knowing that she was part of the reason her was hurting, but the hurt was inevitable. She couldn't take it away and more than he could take away the hurt that ran through her own body.

"Annabeth…"

"Please, just let it go."

"Did he rape you?"

Annabeth hung her head and nodded slightly. She covered her face with her hands, ashamed of herself. Ashamed of what had happened to her and ashamed that she was hurting him by being in his life. It was the one thing she never wanted him to know. The one thing that made her lie to him and it was all out on the table.

"Oh Annabeth." He gathered her in his arms. Her face pressed against his shoulder and she sobbed. He rubbed her back and kissed the top of her head. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Author's Note: Okay, so first of all, I apologize for not updating sooner, but I was on vacation and then I had to go back to school and that took some adjusting to. Second of all, I know the end of this chapter might be a shock to some (although others had predicted it). Please know that, just as I stated in my note before this chapter, even though there will be nothing graphic in this story, it will, going forward, have more mature themes. Thank you for reading!


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Percy felt his body drifting into consciousness. He refused to open his eyes, wanting to stay asleep. He had been having the best dream about sitting at the lake with Annabeth at Camp Half-blood. As he thought of her, the memory of her falling asleep curled up against his side filled his mind. He smiled to himself.

Percy slowly opened his eyes, expecting to see her still beside him. But she wasn't. Instead, he found himself in an uncomfortable position, somewhere between half sitting and half laying, clutching the pillow her head had once occupied. He scanned the room, but didn't see her. He got out of bed slowly, his neck and back aching from the way he slept. He rubbed his sore neck and walked out of the bedroom. He first checked the bathroom, but the door was wide open. His next stop was the kitchen, but she wasn't there. Confused, he looked towards the couch. Her coat was gone. He ran his hand through his messy hair and dropped himself onto the couch.

"What a mess," he mumbled.

He was angry. Angry at himself for not being there to save her, angry at Luke for what he did, angry that she was gone, but even angrier that she felt like she had to leave before he even woke up, and angry that he was yet again alone.

*****

Annabeth stared at the copy machine as it spit out paper after paper of some worksheet she had dug out that morning from an old workbook. She hated being the type of teacher who gave her students busywork for no reason, but she didn't have it in her to teach. She was exhausted, mentally and physically. Somehow things had gotten more complicated than she ever wanted.

As the light from the copy machine went back and forth, scanning the paper, she remembered what it was like waking up next to him. His arms were wrapped securely around her, protecting her. He felt warm against her body. She couldn't help but smile as she heard his soft snores. He looked like he was in a less than comfortable position, but she didn't wake him. Somehow their night of friendship had turned to something much more. She tried to tell herself that he was just comforting her as a friend, that any friend would have done the same thing, but she was lying to herself. She wanted to be there with him in his bed as much as he did and that couldn't happen. So, after taking a moment to revel in what it felt like to be with him, knowing that she would never have that feeling again, she slipped out of his arms and quietly out of the apartment. She didn't know what else to do.

The copier stopped and Annabeth snapped out of her daydream. She grabbed the copies and placed them on the table next to the copier. She picked up another piece of paper from the pile of papers she had brought in and stared at it. She had thought a long time about whether or not she was going to write the letter and give up everything she had worked for, but she knew what she had to do for herself and for him. She had taken half the day on Sunday to write it and the other half of the day to decide what she was going to do with it. She cried herself to sleep before the nightmares started. They were worse than ever before and she woke up screaming for him, but he never came.

Annabeth placed the paper face down on the copier and closed the lid. She hit the copy button as a tear hit the copier.

Just one floor above her, Percy trudged in. He was exhausted and, more than that, partially hung over. He was earlier than usual, but sitting home thinking about what he did wrong was worse than going to work. At least at his desk he hoped he would be able to concentrate enough to plan his lesson for the day. If not, his students were going to be stuck doing written assignments that they would most certainly groan about and he would groan about correcting.

Percy threw his jacket over the back of his chair and dropped his bag on the ground. He sat at his desk, about to pull his plan book out of his bag when he stopped. He couldn't concentrate on plans when there was something he knew he had to do.

Pushing his chair back, he stood up. He didn't know how early she got to school, but he knew that he would wait until she did. He took the stairs two at a time as he went down to the technology and art wing. He was practically jogging when he glanced in the copy room and saw her standing with her back to him over the copy machine. He stopped outside of the room, took a deep breath, and walked in.

"Did I do something wrong?" He asked.

Startled, she quickly wiped the tears from her eyes. She had been hoping to avoid this moment, but it had arrived and she had to face it. She turned around slowly.

"You didn't do anything wrong."

"Then why did you leave?"

"I just think it's best if we didn't see each other anymore."

"I didn't know we were seeing each other to begin with. I thought we were just friends."

"Percy…"

He walked towards her.

"What are you so afraid of, Annabeth? That you might start having feelings for me?"

"That's not what I'm afraid of," she answered quietly.

"Then what is it? Because I can't do this anymore."

"I made it very clear what I wanted and didn't want," she stated, raising her voice.

"Yeah, you wanted to be friends. Well, let me tell you something, I can't just be your friend."

"Then I'm sorry. Because that's all I have to offer."

"Annabeth, anyone who knew us could tell that we weren't just friends when we were fifteen years old."

"That was a long time ago."

"Maybe, but it's still true." He put his hand on her arm. "Look me in the eye and tell me you just want to be my friend.

She did look him in the eye, but she didn't speak. Instead, she saw the same, gentle person she knew when she was a child. If she could have been honest with him, she would have told him that she wanted to be with him, but that wasn't an option. She had made her choice ten years ago. A choice that still pained him, but that he would never know she made.

"There are some things you just don't understand."

"Then help me understand them."

She shook her head. "I can't do this."

He tried to touch her cheek, but she pulled away.

"This has to do with Luke, doesn't it?"

"I can't do this!" She shouted. "I was fine before I saw you again. I was moving on and now…" She pulled the sheet of paper out of the copy machine and shoved it at him. "Now I'm resigning."

She quickly gathered her papers and left the room. He stood, holding her letter of resignation in his hand, feeling as if he had lost.

Author's Note: Thank you so much for all the great reviews from the last chapter. I have to admit that I was really nervous about what people would think, but I'm really glad that it was well received. I'll admit that this chapter isn't as exciting, but there'll be a lot more coming up! (And, to answer someone's question, I had a fabulous vacation and the weather was actually freezing since I went to Vermont, but it still was a ton of fun. Thank you for asking!)


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Annabeth sat at her empty desk. She looked around her classroom at the four, bland colored walls and the twenty-five architect desks that she had somehow convinced the administration were imperative to have if they wanted their students to succeed. She had only been at the school for a short time, but the classroom had turned into hers. In that classroom she had begun to feel the same feeling she had felt as a child at Camp Half-blood. It was the feeling of belonging, but, she knew that as soon as she walked out the front door, she wouldn't belong anymore.

It had been two weeks since she had given her resignation to the principal, who tried everything to get her to stay. She explained to him that she had to move for familial reasons and that she already had another teaching position lined up. The principal, and even some of the teachers and students, begged her to stay, but she couldn't.

It had also been two weeks since she had seen Percy. She had purposely avoided him even though she wanted to see him. She knew that she had to move on and leave him in her past just as she had done ten years earlier.

Annabeth stood up slowly and picked up the small box she had packed of her personal belongings off the desk. She looked down at the box and saw what was leftover of a small "good luck" cake that the teachers had given to her during lunch. The cake only reminded her more of how much she would miss the school.

Taking one last look around the classroom, Annabeth walked to the doorway. She went right, heading for the parking lot. As she made her way down the hallway, she stopped when she came to the stairs. The stairs that led to him.

She knew that he probably wasn't in his room. School had ended more than an hour ago and she knew that he had most likely gone home for the day. And, she reasoned with herself, if he wasn't there, there was no reason why she couldn't leave him the leftover cake as a parting gift.

Annabeth began to climb the stairs slowly. As she neared his classroom, she thought of turning back. The light in his classroom was on, but that wasn't unusual. The lights didn't usually get turned off until after the janitor cleaned the room at night. Annabeth approached the room and poked her head in the door, checking to see if he was there. He wasn't.

Sighing, she put the box down on a desk near the door and took out the cake. She placed the cake on top of a pile of papers on his desk. She contemplated whether she should write him a note, but she wasn't sure what she should say. How could she get him to understand that she was doing this for him? She grabbed a sticky note and a pen and scribbled 'I'm sorry.' It was the only thing she could think of to say.

"Annabeth?"

She froze with the note in her hand. She wished she could disappear. She didn't want another scene like the one they had in the copy room. She didn't want to argue any more. She just wanted things to be back to normal.

"I was just leaving this on your desk," she said, crumpling the note in her hand. "You didn't make it to the party."

"I was busy," he replied.

"Well, I should go. I just wanted to bring you some cake." She started to walk towards the door, but then stopped. There was one thing she did need to say. She took a deep breath. "And I wanted to apologize for…everything. I should never have yelled like I did and…I know things were difficult with me and I'm sorry."

He didn't respond. Not knowing what else to say, she began to walk to the door. He stepped out of the way of the doorway, and she walked through. As soon as she was safe in the hallway, she felt the tears stinging her eyes until he called out her name. She stopped, debating on what she should do. She should have kept walking, she should have run away, but it was as if she were frozen in place.

Percy came out of the classroom with her box in his arms.

"You forgot your box," he said.

"Thanks."

She reached for it, but he didn't hand it to her.

"You know, you didn't have to resign just to avoid me," he said.

"Percy, please…"

"I mean, I know I might be a Seaweed brain sometimes, but resigning was kind of extreme, don't you think?"

He smiled and she couldn't help but laugh out loud, breaking the tension. There was something about the old nickname that made her laugh every time.

"I didn't just do it because of you," she finally responded after getting her laughter under control.

"Then why?"

"It's just something I had to do."

They were both quiet.

"Think we'll ever be able to be friends?" Percy asked, breaking the silence.

She shrugged. "Maybe one day."

"So…where will you go?"

"I've got a few interviews lined up at a few different schools. I'm sure none of them will be the same as Roosevelt…"

"Or have the same charming teachers."

She smiled. "But it will all work out in the end."

Percy's cell phone began to buzz in his pocket. He swiftly shoved his hand in his pocket and turned off the annoying buzzing.

"Sorry," he apologized.

"No, it's okay. Take it. I should go anyway."

"It's probably just my mom asking me what I want for dinner."

"That's right. Friday's dinner night with mom."

"You could come," he blurted out before he even knew what he was saying. She gaped at him. "I mean, she's been asking about you and I know she'd love to see you."

"Thank you, but…"

"It's just dinner."

"Everything to you is just dinner, but it never is really just dinner. This won't work out, Percy. You know that."

"How? How do I know that if we haven't even tried?"

"We have tried. Look, there are things that you don't know and…"

"I have feelings for you, Annabeth," he interrupted. "Feelings that I never knew existed. Feelings that I've never felt for anyone else. I can't just let you go without finding out what those feelings mean."

"It's complicated, Percy."

"So uncomplicate it."

She shook her head. "I have to go."

He nodded. "I'll walk you out."

"You don't have to."

"I'll walk you out," he repeated.

He walked back into the classroom and over to his desk. He threw his coat over his arm and slung his bag over his shoulder. With Percy still holding the box, they walked out together.

They walked through the school in silence, each of their steps getting slower. Neither of them really wanted to part. They opened the door that led to the parking lot.

"Watch out," Percy announced. "It's slippery."

"You're always looking out for me, aren't you?"

He nodded. "Always."

They slowly walked across the ice covered ground. When they reached Annabeth's car, Percy put the box in the backseat.

"Thanks for everything," she said.

"You're welcome."

She started to walk around the car, when she felt her foot slide. She grasped for anything to hold onto as she felt herself losing her balance. She let out a little yelp and was sure she was going to hit the ground when she felt his arms around her waist, holding her. He held onto her, her body on a forty-five degree angle, his body hovering over hers. She should have spoken. She should have said thank you and then demanded that he put her upright, but it felt so good to be in his arms again. And they were so close to each other.

She closed the gap, lifting her head up until she found his lips. It started light and playful with their lips barely brushing against each other. But, as her eyes closed and she wrapped her arm around his neck, she felt the pressure against her lips grow stronger. Despite the fact that the temperature was only hovering around thirty degrees, she felt warmer than she had ever been.

He knew he should probably stop kissing her, but it felt so damn good. And she had kissed him first, hadn't she? He couldn't remember as her teeth dragged against his bottom lip. Never had kissing another woman made him feel the strength and energy that was coursing through his body.

The kiss ended. They both wanted more, but were to afraid to ask for it. Percy helped her stand up straight.

"Maybe it's not so complicated," she whispered.

He laughed out loud and hugged her close to him. She thought about what she was about to ask him carefully. She wanted to move forward, but she wasn't sure if she could. She knew if she didn't move forward, she would risk losing him forever, and that wasn't something she was willing to do.

"Can I ask you something?" She asked.

He released her and looked into her beautiful, dark eyes.

"Anything."

"Would you go out with me tomorrow?"

He smiled. "Are you asking me out on a date?"

"Yes."

"Well, I don't know. I'll have to check my schedule. I have a very active social calendar." She smiled and playfully hit his shoulder. "I could be persuaded, though."

She leaned into him and kissed him on the cheek.

"Well, I guess I accept."

And he did so with a kiss.

Author's Note: Again, I thank you for the overwhelming good responses from my last chapter. I'm trying to write this as fast as I can, but with school and things, it's getting more difficult. So, I thank you for your patience. Oh, and for the record, this story will be more like 19 chapters I'm thinking than the originally predicted 15. (And, just as a side note, I am a sucker for happy endings so don't get too worried…)


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

"I kissed him," Annabeth announced, standing in the doorway of Thalia's bedroom.

Thalia was sitting on the edge of her bed, packing a large suitcase. Her jaw dropped as she jumped to her feet, threw the sweater she was holding halfway across the room, and clapped her hands together loudly.

"You did?"

"I kissed him," Annabeth repeated.

It was as if she were in a trance. Her eyes were stuck staring at a small, red nail polish stain on the carpet. She barely heard what Thalia had said. She was too busy replaying the moments before the kiss over and over again in her mind, trying to make sense of it all. All she really remembered was that there was cake and walking and ice and his strong, warm arms catching her and then the kiss. The brilliant, amazing, incredible kiss that literally took her breath away. How had she gone from saying good-bye to him to kissing him?

"What happened? How was it? How long did it last? Where…"

"Didn't you hear me?" Annabeth interrupted, finally picking up her head. She looked at Thalia and this time her jaw dropped. It was as if she realized what she had done for the first time. "_I_ kissed _him_."

"You said that already. I thought you two weren't even speaking."

"We weren't."

"So…you kissed him without talking to him? What did you just run into him in the hallway, plant one on him, and run in the opposite direction?"

"Not exactly." Annabeth went back to staring at the spot.

Thalia stared at her for a moment and then sighed.

"Come on," she said, beginning to walk out of the room. She grabbed Annabeth's hand and pulled her.

"Where are we going?"

Thalia stopped and let go of Annabeth.

"First you're going to take off your coat." Annabeth looked down at herself. She was still wearing her coat. Talking to Thalia had been much more important than taking off her coat when she had entered the apartment. "And then we're going to have a beer."

"Actually," Annabeth decided, following Thalia as she headed off for the kitchen, "I think this is a wine situation."

Annabeth hung up her coat in the hall closet while Thalia pulled a bottle of wine out from the cupboard and poured them each a glass. She handed one of the glasses to Annabeth and then headed off to her bedroom again.

"What are you packing for?" Annabeth asked as she followed Thalia to her bedroom.

"Oh, no we are so not changing the subject," Thalia insisted.

Annabeth sat at the end of Thalia's bed as Thalia continued to pack.

"I just want to know where you're going."

"Alaska. The magazine's doing some feature about the last frontier or something. I don't know, I just take the pictures."

"Alaska in the winter? What are they nuts?"

"Maybe, but we're not talking about them. We're talking about you and Percy finally kissing!" She squealed. "Now dish."

"I don't know how it happened. I went to his room to leave him some cake and…"

"Wait, you were leaving him cake?"

"It was a good luck cake from the faculty."

"So you thought you would just leave him the leftovers?"

"I thought it would be a nice gesture. Besides, I thought he'd gone home for the day."

Thalia put down the pair of shoes she was trying to shove into her suitcase and laughed.

"Or maybe it wasn't so much as a nice gesture as you were hoping that he hadn't gone home for the day."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Anyway, he wasn't in his room so I was going to leave the cake, but then he came in and we started talking."

"About?"

"About how I didn't think we could ever work out."

"Is that when you kissed him?"

"No. That's when he invited me to dinner again with his mom."

"Wow, he was really trying to play the 'my mom loves you' card wasn't he?"

"Yeah and it almost worked until I tripped on the ice."

"Wait. There was ice in his classroom?"

"No. I tripped outside."

"How'd you end up outside?"

"He walked me to my car."

"Okay, so he walked you to his car and then you tripped? Wow, you're a klutz."

"Gee, thanks."

"And then you kissed him?"

"Well, he sort of caught me and he was just holding me and I felt…I felt…"

"Good? Hot? In love?"

"I felt like I wanted to kiss him."

"So…how was it?"

"What?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Annabeth Chase," Thalia threatened, holding a balled up sock in her hand, ready to throw it at Annabeth. "If you don't tell me how that kiss was, I will hurt you."

"With a sock?"

Annabeth smirked. She was intentionally not telling Thalia about the kiss. Not because she didn't want to, but because she wasn't sure if she could describe it. Her lips were still tingling, her stomach was in knots, and her head hadn't stopped spinning.

"Focus, Annabeth!" Thalia insisted, putting the sock in her suitcase. "The kiss. How was it?"

"It was…" Annabeth tried to think of the right words. The only ones she came up with were the ones Thalia had just said. "Good and hot and…"

"In love?" Thalia questioned. They both giggled like teenage girls. "So, what happens now?"

"I sort of…asked him out," Annabeth confessed.

"You mean like really asked him out?" Annabeth didn't answer. She was just staring straight ahead, not moving like she had done before. "Annabeth?" Thalia waved her hand in front of Annabeth's face. "Yoohoo, Annabeth."

"My gods, I really asked him out. What am I doing?"

"You're finally going to live your life."

"But what if…"

"Annabeth, you need to stop thinking about all the what if's and start letting yourself feel something."

Annabeth paused for a moment. "Will you help me pick out an outfit before you leave?"

Thalia smiled. "I thought you'd never ask."

Author's Note: I know this was a short chapter, and not really Percabeth, but I did want to do a fun chapter between Annabeth and Thalia before I got into the more…serious stuff. I hope you enjoyed it and I promise that there's a lot more Percabeth to come!


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Annabeth stared in the mirror. Everything was perfect. Her hair was curled and bouncing along her shoulders. Her makeup was light and barely visible, just as she preferred it. Her dress was black and short and fit her like a glove. Yes, everything was perfect or at least as perfect as she and Thalia could make it.

She smoothed her dress, running her hands down her sides. As she looked at her reflection, her eyes fell on the v-neck collar of her dress. She wondered if it was too much. According to the standard of dresses women wore, it really was modest, but she pulled it up anyway. She wasn't afraid of the dress being too revealing. She was afraid of Percy finding out what was hiding underneath the black fabric.

Trying to ignore the butterflies in her stomach, Annabeth was about to turn away form the mirror when she noticed the reflection of a framed picture behind her. She turned around and quickly scooped the picture off the table. It was of her and Thalia at a New Years party last year. It was one of her favorite pictures of them, but it had to go.

Annabeth quickly walked into the kitchen and shoved the picture in a miscellaneous kitchen drawer. As soon as it was safely away, she backed up against the drawer, leaned on the counter, and closed her eyes. She had already gone over the entire apartment for any pictures, pieces of mail, or anything else that might lead Percy to find out about Thalia. Annabeth was more worried about revealing Thalia's identity than she was about the date itself. She knew that no matter what, Percy could not find out about Thalia. He had made it very clear that he wanted to talk to Thalia and Annabeth knew that he would never trust her again if he found out that she had known where Thalia was the entire time.

After she was sure the picture was concealed in the drawer and she scanned the rest of the apartment for the third time for any evidence of Thalia, Annabeth returned to the mirror.

"What am I doing?" She asked out loud to her reflection.

Another worry floated through her mind. Not only was she concerned about her appearance and about Percy finding out about Thalia, but she also was worried about being alone with him, which she knew was silly. They had already spent countless hours alone, so she knew she had nothing to worry about, but that was before. Things were different now and it scared her.

Annabeth jumped when the apartment doorbell buzzed. She held her breath. Taking one last look in the mirror, she walked over to the door and touched her finger to the 'talk' button on her intercom.

"Who is it?" She asked even though she knew the question was stupid.

"The luckiest man alive," Percy answered.

Annabeth smiled and buzzed him in. Less than thirty seconds later, Annabeth heard him in the other side of the door. She opened the door before he had the chance to knock.

"Hi," she said, unable to hide the large smile that was on her face.

"Hi yourself," he replied, holding out a dozen red roses mingled with baby's breath.

"They're beautiful," she stated as he handed them to her. She held them to her nose and sighed.

"They're nothing compared to you." He took her hand and kissed it. "You look…incredible."

"I'm going to put these in water," she said, blushing.

She turned to walk into the kitchen. Percy couldn't help but stare at her figure as she went. The Jeans and skirts he had seen her so many times before didn't do her justice. But the dress she was wearing was perfect.

"Dating is so much better than non-dating," he muttered to himself.

"What?" She asked, poking her head out from the kitchen.

"I was just saying how nice your place is," he answered.

"Oh, thanks."

"So, is your roommate here?"

"No. She's…out of town for the weekend," Annabeth explained. That was probably the first time she hadn't had to lie to Percy about her roommate.

"Oh, too bad. I'd really like to meet her."

"Maybe some other time."

Percy looked around. The apartment was very Annabeth. It had clean lines and was simply decorated with neutral colors. It was so clean that it didn't really appear as if anyone else lived there. It was almost too clean.

"Can I ask you a question?" Percy asked.

"That depends," Annabeth said as she placed the last flower in the crystal vase.

"On?"

She reappeared in the living room.

"On what you're going to ask me."

"Are you one of those obsessively clean people or do you have a cleaning lady? Because if it's a cleaning lady, I want her number. Grover's room could use a serious overhaul."

Annabeth smiled. She thought she might have a little fun with him.

"Actually," she began, "he's a cleaning man."

Percy took a step closer to her.

"Man, huh?"

I make him walk around shirtless with skimpy shorts on."

Percy took yet another step closer. They were only about a foot away. He looked at her, trying to see even a glimmer of a smirk or a gleam in her eye that might suggest that she was putting him on. He really hoped she was because the thought of a man, especially a shirtless man, walking around her apartment made him angry.

"Is that a problem?" Annabeth asked suggestively.

"No, no problem," he replied.

"Good, because for a moment there I thought you might be jealous."

"Of a man maid?"

"Not just a man maid. A man maid with nice abs."

He reached for her hand and finally he got what he was looking for. A smirk.

"Well, in that case, maybe I'm a little jealous," he stated.

They both laughed, happy to have fallen into the witty banter they were accustomed too. Of course, that witty banter had turned into something new…flirting.

Annabeth reached for her coat on the nearby coat rack, but Percy laid his hand over hers. He pulled her coat down and helped her into it.

"So…where are we going?" She questioned.

"I figured since this is our first official date, we mine as well follow traditional dating rules."

"Which are?"

"Dinner and a movie." She laughed and he suddenly grew flustered. "Unless you don't want to…"

"No, it sounds great."

"Then why did you laugh?"

"Forget it."

"If there's something you'd rather do…"

"It's just…going to the movies was almost our first date ten years ago. Not that it was really a date…" She trailed off as he looked at her inquisitively. "You don't remember?"

"Remember what?"

"That day we were supposed to go to the movies?"

It was as if a light bulb suddenly lit up in his brain. "And we couldn't go because…"

"You got into trouble yet again."

Annabeth was also going to mention that a certain red-headed person ruined it, but she didn't want to think about Rachel. Thinking about her only made things worse.

"I completely forgot about that," Percy admitted.

"Yeah, well, I guess it wasn't that important in the scheme of things."

"It was, I just…"

"I know, there were other things on your mind that night."

"Well trust me," he said. "This night is going to be very important and I promise I'll never forget it."

"I should hope not," Annabeth said, looping her arm through his.

He leaned over and kissed her on the top of the head and they walked out together.

Author's Note: I can't thank all of my reviewers enough for their kind and encouraging word. You all are the reason I spend my time at work writing rather than actually doing work (shh…don't tell my boss). This is officially my most reviewed story and I really appreciate that. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! This was a tough one for me to write. It just felt like an awkward chapter, but it's done and now I get to move on to the good stuff!


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

"No, I made a reservation," Percy insisted.

"I'm sorry, sir, but you're name isn't in the book."

"But I called yesterday and I spoke to a woman and I made a reservation for two under the name Jackson."

"As I've already told you, there is no reservation in that name and as you can see, we're completely booked this evening."

"Could you please just check again?" Percy snapped.

Percy wasn't usually the type of person to lose his cool, but he couldn't help it. Not only was he angry, he was also embarrassed because Annabeth was standing right next to him, hearing everything. Keeping his cool was not very high on his priority list. However, grabbing the reservation book the host was looking at and ripping it into little pieces was quickly rising to the top of his priority list. That and kissing Annabeth as much as he possibly could.

The host sighed and looked back down at his book for the fourth time. He knew that the name Jackson was nowhere to be found, but he was trained that the customer was always right, so he checked again.

Percy squeezed Annabeth's hand and smiled at her weakly. They hadn't let go of one another since they had gotten out of Percy's car and the valet had driven it away. That was almost ten minutes ago. Percy had been arguing with the host ever since.

While the host rechecked the book, which Annabeth thought was rather silly since Percy's name obviously was nowhere to be found, she looked around the restaurant. It was an incredibly elegant French restaurant with crystal chandeliers and linen tablecloths that probably cost more than the rent on her apartment. The waiters were all dressed in tuxedos and carried white linen towels draped over their arms.

As her eyes took in her surroundings, Annabeth caught the eye of an older woman who had a sour look on her face and a glass of red wine in her hand. She was sitting across from a man, whom Annabeth assume was her husband, who was quite obviously staring at an attractive, younger woman across the room. Annabeth smiled at the older woman politely, but the woman simply frowned and focused her attention back to her wine. A little put off by the woman's reaction, Annabeth looked at the next table. It was the same old thing, an older man and woman dressed to the nines staring at each other across the table with miserable expressions on their faces. Annabeth quickly noticed that all of the patrons in the restaurant seemed cold and uninviting. Aside from a few businessmen entertaining their wealthy clients, most of the other diners were older couples who seemed very un-couple like. The tables they were sitting at were so large that it was as if the couples were eating in two different places. It certainly didn't hold the same romantic atmosphere as the small Italian restaurant they had gone to on Valentine's Day. Not to mention that there wasn't a person under forty in sight.

"I'm sorry, sir, but there is no reservation and we are full this evening. Perhaps you would like to make a reservation for another night."

"I don't want a reservation for another night," Percy insisted.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He began to let go of Annabeth's hand so that he could pull out some money to bribe the host when Annabeth tugged on his hand, not letting go.

"It's fine, Percy, we can just go somewhere else," she stated.

He looked over at her.

"It's not fine. I made the reservation and…"

She leaned against him and put her lips close to his ear.

"Please, let's find somewhere that's more…us," she whispered.

He looked at her for another moment and then nodded. "Okay." He said it even though he was fuming. He felt like a fool, even though he knew he had made the reservation. Everything was ruined now because some hostess couldn't get his name right.

"Have a good evening," the host said as Percy and Annabeth began to walk out.

Percy turned back around to glare at him. Annabeth pulled on his hand and they both walked through the doors. Percy handed his ticket to the valet, who walked off to get their car.

"Annabeth, I'm so sorry. I swear I made the reservation and…"

"Percy, it's fine."

"But I wanted this date to be perfect and now it's not. And…"

"Did you look around in there?"

"Yeah. It looked nice. It was recommended by the top food critics in almost every New York magazine and…"

Annabeth put her finger in front of his lips, quieting him.

"It was nice, Percy, and I'm sure that the food would have been excellent, but it was too nice."

"How can something be too nice?"

"Percy, the tables had three forks on them. We've battled monsters and been thrown off cliffs. We're not exactly three fork people."

He laughed and snaked his arm around her waist.

"You're right." He sighed. "I just wanted to make tonight special."

"And it will be. As long as we're together, it will be."

The valet pulled the car up to the sidewalk.

"So, now that three fork restaurants are out, where do you want to go?" Percy asked.

Annabeth smirked. "I have an idea."

"Something tells me I should be afraid," Percy said as he opened Annabeth's door for her.

"Don't worry, you'll love this place."

"Oh, and how do I know that?"

"Because it's got good food and good service."

"So, tell me where it is."

Annabeth shook her head. "You're just going to have to trust me."

She slipped into the car. Before shutting the door, Percy bent over and stuck his head into the car.

"Just tell me one thing," he said.

"What's that?"

"Tell me we're not going to meet your personal chef who walks around your apartment shirtless with nice abs, are we?"

"Oh no, Jacque doesn't have nice abs. He's got a nice ass," Annabeth teased.

Percy rolled his eyes and shut the door. As he walked around to the driver's side, Annabeth reached into the glove compartment and pulled out his GPS.

"What are you doing?"

"Bosco is going to tell you where you're going," Annabeth explained as she began to program their destination.

"Bosco?"

"Your GPS."

"You named my GPS?"

"It needed a name."

"So you chose Bosco?"

"Is there something wrong with the name Bosco?"

"No, just seems like an odd name for a GPS."

"Would you prefer something else? Something Greek perhaps? Maybe Poseidon," she teased.

"No, Bosco's fine," Percy insisted.

Annabeth attached the contraption to the window and faced the screen towards Percy.

"So, are you going to tell me where we're going?" Percy asked as he fastened his seatbelt.

"No, but Bosco is."

As the GPS's computer voice told Percy to go straight for two miles before taking a left, he glanced over at Annabeth. She was looking out the window, gazing at the buildings that surrounded them. They were in an older section of town. Most of the buildings had been built in the late 1800's. Percy knew that Annabeth always appreciated any type of architecture, but especially old buildings. He loved seeing her so happy to be doing something as simple as looking out the window. Percy reached for her hand and brought it to his lips, kissing it lightly.

"What was that for?"

"Just reminding you how amazing you are," Percy answered.

Annabeth blushed. "Thank you," she said as Percy gave her her hand back. Percy winked at her as he began to follow Bosco's directions.

They drove for nearly twenty minutes in silence. Annabeth was happily looking out the window while Percy continually glanced over at her. He still couldn't believe that she was finally there with him on a date. This wasn't just lunch or a trip to the park as friends. This was a real date.

As the city gave way to a small neighborhood, Percy began to recognize where they were and he smiled.

"You know where we're going now, don't you?" Annabeth asked as she noticed the expression on his face change. She hoped he would like the place she had chosen as much as she did. Of course, it wasn't so much the place as the memory of it.

"I have an idea," he replied.

She reached over and put her hand on top of his, which was resting on the gear shift. "Are you surprised?"

He thought about it for a moment. Of course he hadn't expected the location that Annabeth had picked out, but it wasn't exactly a surprise either. It was very Annabeth.

"Not really. But are you sure you want to go here?" Percy asked. "It's not quite as fancy as French food."

"Good," Annabeth answered, squeezing his hand.

Percy pulled into the nearly deserted parking lot. He quickly parked the car, ran over to Annabeth's door, opened it, and looped her arm through his.

"See, this place is definitely us," Annabeth stated as she looked up at the painted sign that had a dancing boiled egg and a piece of bacon with a smiley face. It was the same place they had gone on their first non-date.

"No argument here," Percy said.

He opened the door for her and they both walked in. There was no hostess to greet them, no crystal chandelier, and no waiters in tuxes. Instead, a handwritten sign taped to the front counter told them they could pick any seat they wanted, one of the overhead light bulbs had burnt out, and the waitresses all wore jeans.

"Don't you feel a little…overdressed?" Percy asked as the only two other people in the restaurant stared at them.

"Not in the least. Formalwear is the perfect thing to wear to breakfast."

Still holding his hand, Annabeth dragged him over to a table in the far right corner. They sat down in the booth opposite each other. Annabeth plucked the menus from behind the napkin dispenser and handed one to Percy.

"Thank you," he said.

He opened the menu and began to look through it. He knew he basically had three choices, pancakes, French toast, or eggs. Although he had expected a much finer cuisine for their evening's dinner, pancakes sounded just fine.

Annabeth looked at him intently. His hair, just a little too long, fell into his eyes. He brushed it aside. She stared at his long fingers and large hands that had once saved them from so many enemies. He had gone from a boy to a man. The man she wanted. The man she had almost thrown away because of fear.

"What?" He asked, noticing that she was staring at him.

"What what?"

"You were staring at me. Is everything okay?"

"I was just thinking that I should be the one thanking you."

"For what?"

"For being so persistence. For agreeing to go out with me even when I've done everything in my power to stay away from you."

"Well, when you put it that way, maybe I shouldn't have agreed," he said, smiling.

"I wouldn't have blamed you if you didn't."

"Annabeth, nothing would have stopped me from going out with you."

"Not even our parents?"

"It would take a whole lot more than the wrath of Athena to make me not want to go out with you."

She laughed. It had been a long time since she had last seriously thought about her mother. It felt strange to her that she was suddenly talking about all of the things that she had tried so desperately to forget. How many times had she wished that she had had a normal childhood? Until, that is, she looked into his eyes.

"Do you remember the first time we met?" She asked, the memory washing over her like a wave.

"On the porch," he answered. "At camp. I collapsed after fighting…" he lowered his voice. Even though the only other people in the restaurant were nowhere near them, he didn't need them to attract any more attention than her dress and his suit already did. "Fighting the minotaur."

"I'm surprised you remember that. After all, you were…"

"Ill…delirious…near death," Percy finished. "But I don't care how close to death I am, I never forget a pretty face."

"We were twelve."

"You were still pretty."

She smiled. "When I saw you…when you collapsed on the porch. I knew."

"Knew what?"

"You were meant to do something great. And I was meant to do it with you."

"How could you know that? I could have been some creep or something."

She smiled and shook her head. "You weren't a creep. I could tell."

"But how?"

"I could see kindness in your eyes and a sense of loneliness, just as I felt. That's why I insisted on nursing you back to health. I knew I had to be the one. We were the same inside. Lost. Searching for ourselves. I knew when I saw you that I wanted to know you, to really know you."

"I don't know if I ever thanked you for saving my life that night."

"I only did what you would have done for me in a heartbeat."

He reached across the table and squeezed her hand.

"Do you know what I remember about you the first time I met you?" She shook her head. "Your eyes. When I truly saw you for the first time, I thought you were this California girl who didn't have had a care in the world. Until I saw your eyes. And that's when I knew you were more like me than I thought. Any time I've ever been in danger or I've been scared or felt alone, I've thought of your eyes."

"You're just saying this to make me blush," Annabeth said as her cheeks turned red.

"I'm saying this because I've wanted to say it for a very long time. And there's something else I've wanted to do for a long time."

"What's that?"

He leaned across the table and kissed her hard on the mouth.

"I thought we did that yesterday," she said, flustered.

The kiss was just as good the second time.

"Yesterday seems like a very long time ago," he muttered, leaning in for another kiss.

"Percy?" She whispered against his lips.

"Mmm?"

"Come here."

She pulled on his tie and he slid out of the booth and sat down beside her. He put his arm around her and they locked lips until the waitress came over to take their order.

Author's Note: Okay, so I've been agonizing over this chapter for the last day or two. I was originally going to completely skip the date and move right on with the story. I thought that since I already did a "date" scene earlier in this story, it was sort of unnecessary. But, after writing the next chapter, I decided that there was just something missing and that my readers might be pretty mad if I skipped the date completely, so, while bored at work, I wrote this chapter. But then I wondered if I liked it and I've been going back and forth ever since. In conclusion, I hope you enjoyed it and that I made the right decision by adding it in! (Oh, and can someone please tell me what a lemon means?)


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Annabeth quickly washed her hands in the bathroom sink. As she reached for a paper towel, she looked in the mirror above the sink. Her makeup had started to wear off and her hair was a little less perfect than when the night started, but she didn't care. She was having the best time she could ever have imagined.

Smiling to herself, Annabeth made her way out of the restroom. She saw Percy standing at the snack bar, getting a bag of popcorn and two sodas. He winked at her from across the room. She simply stared at him, wondering how she had gotten so lucky.

"Ready?" He asked, as she approached him. He was holding the tray with the drinks and popcorn on it.

"Ready," she replied.

They walked off towards theater number seven where the romantic comedy Annabeth had picked out was playing. She told him that they didn't have to see a "chick flick," but Percy insisted that they see whatever she wanted. Movies never held much of an appeal to him anyway so he didn't really care. He could honestly say that there wasn't one genre of movie that he really enjoyed. He stayed away from action and horror movies because he had already seen too much action and horror in his life and romantic comedies always reminded him of the life he didn't have so he pretty much avoided those as well. He would catch the occasional comedy, but even that held little interest for him. He often failed to see the humor in comedies. With Annabeth, though, he would have been willing to see anything. He gladly would have walked into an action, horror, or any other kind of movie with her. Of course, that's because he knew that he would spend more time looking at her during the movie than watching the movie itself.

"Where do you want to sit?" Percy asked as they entered the theater. There were already a few movie goers spread out throughout the theater, but it wasn't crowded.

"In the back," Annabeth answered. "I like the back."

She really didn't care about where they sat, but, in the back they would have more privacy and that's really what she was after.

They climbed the stairs to the last row in the theater. Annabeth walked down the row first, sitting directly in the middle. Percy sat next to her, putting the tray of snacks on his lap. Percy handed her drink over to her and she put it in the cup holder attached to the arm of her seat. Putting the popcorn between them, Percy began to munch on it. He began idly watching the advertisements that were playing on the screen. When he glanced over at Annabeth, he noticed that she was staring at him.

"What?" He asked.

"Nothing," she replied, shaking her head. She finally took her eyes away from him, which was difficult. Being with him filled her with so much joy that she couldn't put it into words. But it also made her sad. Just looking at him made her eyes begin to tear up because she knew how much she had hurt him.

"What is it?" He asked again, noticing that her face had become more sullen.

"I just can't believe that we're finally here."

"You mean that we made it into the theater without getting attacked by a minotaur or angry empousai or any number of other evil beings? Because we still have a two hour movie to sit through here. Empousai can do a lot of damage in two hours."

She smiled. "It's not that," she said. "Although it is nice not getting attacked around every corner."

"Then what is it?"

"I just can't believe that after everything we've been through…" she paused. "I never thought I would see you again never mind be sitting next to you at the movie. I mean, I've always thought about it…what it would be like to do something like go to the movies with you." She realized she was rambling on, so she stopped. "I know that must all sound crazy and stupid to you, but…"

"It doesn't sound crazy or stupid," he assured her. "I can't tell you how many times I've dreamed of this moment."

"You dreamed of going to the movies with me?" She asked.

"I dreamed of doing anything and everything with you. Even when I thought you were…gone. I just kept hoping and dreaming that maybe someday I'd find you again. Everyone told me to forget it, but I couldn't."

"Well, I'm glad you didn't."

"Me too."

As the theater lights dimmed and a preview began to play on the screen, Percy slipped his arm around the back of Annabeth's chair. Annabeth leaned her head against his shoulder and sighed.

*****

They didn't move once throughout the whole movie. Annabeth stayed leaning against him, hearing the pounding of his heart in her ear. The sound comforted her. Percy had only moved his arm to pull her closer to him. And he was right, he had spent more time looking at her than the movie itself. They were both disappointed when it ended because that meant that they had to let each other go. As the credits began to roll, it was Annabeth who moved first.

"That was good," she commented, standing up.

"I wouldn't know," Percy stated, looking up at her from his seat. "I was too busy paying attention to something far more interesting."

"You really do like making me blush, don't you?"

"You're just so cute when your cheeks turn all red."

"Yeah well just wait until next time. I'll find some way to completely embarrass you."

"Are you implying that there's going to be a next time?" Percy asked, raising his eyebrow.

"Would you like there to be a next time?"

"That depends."

"On?"

He reached for her hand. She was standing right in front of him, looking down at him.

"You have to fire your man maid and chef with the great ass first," he teased.

"That seems like a pretty hefty price to pay. It's not every day you find guys who can clean, cook, and have nice bodies."

"Well, maybe this will change your mind."

He pulled her onto his lap and kissed her long and hard.

"I don't know, I might need some more persuasion," she said with a sparkle in her eye. Percy practically devoured her with his lips before she even had a chance to finish her sentence. His hand immediately went for her hair. He loved touching her hair.

"Ahem."

Annabeth scrambled off his lap when they saw the movie usher standing at the end of the row. She looked around and noticed that all of the other patrons had gone and the credits were over.

"Sorry," she apologized. "We were just leaving."

Annabeth gathered her coat and made her way down the row with Percy not far behind. As they passed the usher, the man nudged Percy's shoulder.

"Nice catch, man," he whispered.

"You have no idea," Percy replied.

He grabbed Annabeth's hand and they walked out into the foyer.

"What did he say to you?" Annabeth asked as she put her coat on.

"It's a guy thing," Percy replied, smiling to himself. For once he had someone who was jealous of him. It had always been that he was jealous of other guys when he saw them with a gorgeous woman on their arms, but this time they were jealous of him because he was the one with the gorgeous woman. And not only was she gorgeous, but she was smart and funny and absolutely perfect.

"Ready to go?" Annabeth asked.

"Yeah."

He answered without really looking at her. It was as if he were looking out into space.

"You okay?"

He smiled at her, putting his arm around her shoulder.

"I am so much better than okay."

They walked out towards their car, Annabeth using his body to shield herself from the cold. Up until then, it had been a pretty warm night considering the temperatures they had been having throughout the week, but it was definitely getting colder.

They both quickly got into the car and Percy cranked up the heat. They were only a few minutes from Annabeth's apartment. Percy wished they were farther away so that they had more time together.

"Well, at least we didn't get attacked," Annabeth said as Percy pulled out of the parking spot.

"The nights not over yet," Percy replied.

"Have you been?"

"What?"

"Attacked?"

"Since I left Camp? No. There are moments I've thought I've seen something lurking in the shadows or thought I sensed something, but nothing's happened. It's like because I shut myself out from that world, they shut me out from their world."

"That's not necessarily a bad thing, is it?"

"You mean do I enjoy not having to fight for my life all the time? Yeah, it's kind of nice not to have to worry about monsters around every corner. But there are some things I miss."

"Do you still have Riptide?"

Percy reached into his pocket and pulled out the familiar pen.

"I never leave home without it. Just in case. What about you?"

"Do I ever get attacked? No. Life has been pretty boring since I…left."

"How about your invisibility cap?"

She shook her head. "It's gone."

"That's too bad. I can think of some things I'd like to do with an invisibility cap."

"Oh, like what?"

"I don't know…check out the girl's locker room at the gym maybe."

Annabeth hit his shoulder. "You're sick, you know that?"

"Yeah, well, a single guy can dream, can't he?"

There was something about the way he said single that struck Annabeth. Of course Percy would say that he was single. They weren't officially dating. They were just going on dates. And up until a day before, Annabeth hadn't even wanted that. How had she gone from not wanting to date him to wanting to be his girlfriend? Of course, she realized, she had never not wanted to date him. That was just something she had told herself to make leaving him easier. But nothing was easy. She finally was willing to admit her feelings for him, but that didn't make anything easier. There were still too many secrets, too many things that he didn't know. Things that he could never know.

"Annabeth?" Percy said.

He had pulled up in front of her apartment building and she was staring at the windshield as if in a trance.

"What? Sorry?"

"We're here."

Percy got out of the car and walked around to her side to open the door. He helped her out and he walked her to the front door. Annabeth began to fish around in her purse for her keys.

"I had a really nice time," Annabeth said, even though she couldn't get the thought of wanting to be more than just a date to him out of her mind.

"Me too."

"Well, goodnight."

Annabeth put her key in the lock and opened the door. She was about to take a step inside when she turned around.

"Do you want to be single?"

"What?"

"Do you want to be single?" she repeated.

"Well, I…" He took a deep breath. "Annabeth, I'm going to ask you something that I should have asked you the moment you walked back in my life…something I should have asked you ten years ago."

"What?"

"Will you be my girlfriend?"

It was a simple question. One that made Percy seem like a teenager again. And one that made Annabeth laugh. She laughed so much that her eyes beginning to fill with tears.

"I'm sorry," she said through her laughter.

Percy, on the other hand, was not laughing. He had finally opened his heart to her and she was laughing at him. He felt humiliated.

"What's so funny?" He asked angrily.

"Oh, Percy, no, I'm not laughing at you," she stated, trying to control her laughter.

"Then what are you laughing at?"

She finally stopped. "I'm laughing at myself. I was just standing here so…jealous and angry at the fact that you were single and I was thinking how badly I wanted to be more to you than just a date and then I thought that I have no right to think that because I'm the one who didn't want to date in the first place and…"

He silenced her with a kiss.

"Yes," she answered when they both stopped to breathe.

"Yes what?" He whispered, his lips lingering dangerously close to hers.

"Yes, I'll be your girlfriend."

She didn't know what she was doing. She was still afraid. She knew she was making a mistake, but as Thalia said, she was tired of the what if's. For the first time, she just wanted to feel. And when she kissed Percy, she felt right. She felt complete.

This time it was she who leaned against him, initiating the kiss. It was full of hunger and need. Annabeth reached behind her for the door handle and opened the door. They practically fell inside as the door gave way, but Percy caught them both.

"Do you want to come up?" She asked. As soon as the words escaped her lips, she regretted them. She didn't know what she was doing except that she was losing control and it felt wonderful.

Author's Note: Sorry, this is going to be a long note. First off, even though I said I was unsure of doing a "dating" scene in the first place, now I've gone and written a second part to it. I just couldn't resist and I think it makes the next chapter more…cohesive. Secondly, although I would love to reply to every reviewer separately, there's just no way I can do that, so here are a few general things that I wanted to say.

Thank you to everyone who explained what a lemon was to me. As for whether or not it will appear in this story, the answer is that I never write graphic sex scenes. Instead, I'm a big fan of implying.

Also, a few people asked me about putting action into the story. I'm sorry to disappoint, but there won't be much action. That's just not what I envisioned this story to be.

It has also been pointed out to me that there are some inconsistencies in my story from the books. I apologize for these and all I can really say is that I don't remember the books that well. I know that sounds silly for someone writing a fanfic about them, but it's the truth.

Lastly, a few people also asked that I make the chapters a little longer. The way I look at chapter length is this…I end a chapter when it feels right. So, I apologize if chapters aren't as long as some would like.

I thank everyone for their comments and suggestions! Looks like this story is going to be even longer than I imagined.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Their lips melted together, battling for dominance. Her back hit the door the apartment door, slamming it shut. It was the only thing that helped her keep her balance. Her knees felt like jelly, ready to give way at any moment. Her hands were trembling, but that didn't stop her.

His hand snaked around her waist and then ran up her back, causing her to shiver even though she was anything but cold. His fingertips seemed to emanate heat as they ran up her spine and she moaned into his mouth. He replied by kissing her harder, depriving himself of oxygen, but he didn't care.

Annabeth pushed on the collar of his jacket, trying to rid him of his coat. Somehow he managed to shrug the annoying fabric off without breaking their connection. His hand skimmed over her shoulder blades, up her neck, and finally to the back of her head where it became tangled in her hair. As he continued to explore her mouth with his own, his other hand, which had been comfortably settled on her waist, slid up the side of her body and over her shoulder. He caressed the exposed skin of her neck before he slowly inched his hand underneath the neckline of her shirt.

"Wait," she managed to whisper, pushing the palm of her hand against his chest.

He stopped kissing her, but left his face only centimeters from hers. When she took a step to the side, obviously trying to distance herself from him, he took his hands off of her and took a step back. Something was definitely wrong.

Annabeth looked down at the floor, giving herself a moment to catch her breath. She had never felt so out of control before. She had emotions running through her she had never had and it scared her. Her body was telling her one thing, but her mind was telling her another. The only thing she knew for sure was that she felt a void running through her without him so close.

"I'm sorry," he said for lack of anything better to say.

"No, it's not you. I'm the one who's sorry."

"You need to stop apologizing for things you shouldn't be apologizing for," Percy insisted.

He knew that she had no reason to apologize. If she wasn't comfortable with what they were doing then obviously he needed to stop, but it was difficult. It was taking all of his effort and self-restraint to not start kissing her again. She elicited feelings in him he didn't know he had.

"I…" she began to say, but stopped.

"You what?"

He was trying to think through everything in his mind that could possibly be wrong. Perhaps whatever was happening had something to do with why she didn't want to go out with him in the first place. Or maybe it wasn't that at all. Maybe he was moving too fast? Or maybe she just didn't have the same feelings for him that he was feeling for her.

"I'm just…"

"Not used to this?" It was the same line she had used last time he had tried to kiss her in his apartment.

"Yes and no. It's more than that."

"It's okay, Annabeth."

She shook her head. "It's not okay."

"Look, if I'm going too fast or if…"

"I'm…afraid," she admitted. She felt wrong saying it, but it was the truth.

He placed his fingertips under her chin and lifted her face until their eyes met.

"What are you so afraid of?"

"This...whatever this is." She looked up at him. "And you."

He took a larger step back. "Me?"

"I know. It doesn't make sense."

"How can you be afraid of me?"

"I can't…explain it," Annabeth answered.

"I would never hurt you. You know I would never hurt you," he stated. He had to get her to understand that he cared about her and wanted the best for her. And if that meant that she wasn't ready for what he was ready for, it was okay.

"I know. And I…I feel safer with you than I've ever felt with anyone else."

"Then why are you so afraid? How could you be afraid of this when it feels so right?"

"Maybe it's the feeling so right that I'm afraid of."

Finally it dawned on him. The one thing that hadn't yet occurred to him finally made everything make perfect sense.

"You've never let anyone…be this close to you, have you?" She didn't answer and he took yet another step closer to her. It was like a tug of water, pulling back and forth between wanting her and respecting her.

"I told you I didn't date."

"You've never let anyone make love to you." He said it more as a statement to himself than as a question to her.

She looked back at the floor. "How can you say that when you know what he did to me," she replied quietly.

The pieces of the puzzle floated into place. It wasn't just that she didn't want to date or that she was inexperienced. She was afraid of what Luke had done to her. She had never known what it was like to be with someone who cared about her. She only knew what it was like to be with someone who was violent and evil. She was afraid of experiencing the awful thing that had happened to her all over again.

"You're afraid of being with me, aren't you?"

"Please, just go," she begged, tears streaming down her face. She hadn't meant for this to happen. She hadn't meant for it to have gone as far as it did. And she didn't want him to see her like that.

"No," he stated, standing his ground. He yearned to touch her, to hold her in his arms and tell her that everything was going to be alright, but there was something he had to do first.

"What?"

"I said no. I'm not going anywhere."

"Percy, please…"

"I understand that you're afraid and you have every right to be afraid, but do you really think that what Luke did to you had anything to do with making love?"

"I don't want to talk about this."

It was all becoming too much. She tried to walk away, but Percy caught her arm and wouldn't let her go.

"But you have to, Annabeth. You have to talk about this. I know it hurts, but I'm here for you. And you have to understand, Annabeth that what he did to you…that's not making love. What he did was about power. It had nothing to do with love."

Percy went to put his hand on her cheek, but she slid out of the way. She didn't want his pity. She just wanted him to go. She wanted him to go away and pretend that he knew nothing about what Luke did to her. And she wanted him to leave before she said something that she'd regret.

She tried to collect herself and make the tears stop. Her body was shaking, but that was something she couldn't help.

"Whatever he did, he made sure that no one would ever want to make love to me," she muttered.

"Annabeth…" How could he tell her that every bone, every muscle, every vein in his body wanted to make love to her. To show her what real love was. "You know that's not true."

She pulled on the neckline of her dress, revealing her creamy, white skin and a jagged red scar that began just above her left breast and disappeared below the rest of the dress.

"That's just one of the scars."

She let go of her dress, covering the scar again.

"Scars are just scars, Annabeth."

"Not when they make you remember everything you hate about yourself."

This time he reached forward and held her face between his hands before she could get away.

"You are beautiful."

"Percy," she said, trying to release herself from his grasp.

"No, listen to me. Scars or no scars, you are beautiful. You are more beautiful now than when I first met you." He played with her hair. "And don't you ever think differently." She looked up at him as a tear rolled down her cheek. He took his hands off her face and reached out to hold her hand. "And you don't have to be afraid of me. You know I would never make you do anything you didn't want to."

"I know." She paused. "I'm not cut out for this, Percy."

"Yes you are. You've been through something awful, Annabeth. Something that you may never be able to forget, but you deserve better than that. And you are cut out for this."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because I want you. You don't know it, but I want to be with you so badly it hurts. I want to be with you so badly it is becoming increasingly difficult to not start kissing you again. But I can promise you one thing, Annabeth, I will never be like him. I would rather spend the rest of my life wanting you and not being able to have than hurting you."

"Percy, I don't know if I'll ever…"

"I don't care how long it takes," he interrupted. He had to let her know how much she meant to him. "One day, Annabeth…one day I will show you what love means. One day I will make love to you." He brought her hand up this his mouth and kissed it lightly. "That's a promise."

"It's getting late," she said quietly.

He nodded and let go of her hand.

"I should go," he said, not really wanting to.

"Thank you for dinner and…everything."

He grabbed his coat off the floor and opened the door.

"Goodnight," he said.

"Goodnight."

He lingered in the doorway, wanting to kiss her goodnight, but he refrained. He walked out into the hallway and Annabeth slowly closed the door behind him.

She leaned her back against the closed door and let out a deep breath. Closing her eyes, she traced the scar that ran down her chest. She knew what she wanted. She wanted to be with him. She wanted to be with him without the fear and shame. She wanted to show him what she was feeling, but she was afraid it would come with a price. What if he found out what she had done? What if she couldn't be the woman she wanted to be not only because of the physical scars, but the emotional ones? What if he was disgusted by her? But she wanted him. She wanted him so badly it hurt.

Without a second thought, she flung the door open and raced down the hallway and through the front door.

Author's Note:

This note's gonna be short and sweet – thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing comments. And, for those of you waiting for the "secret" to be revealed, it'll be here soon!


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Percy trudged out the front door and to his car. He hung his head as he walked. He was disappointed. Plain and simple. But it was more than disappointment. It was disappointment hinged on anger. And it had nothing to do with Annabeth herself. He was angry with himself for expecting something that he had no right to expect, but he was angrier with Luke even more. If he could have, Percy would have killed Luke all over again for what he did to Annabeth.

Fishing his keys out of his pocket, Percy unlocked the car door. As he opened it, he realized that his mom and Rich were right, maybe he was destined to be alone. The thought angered him even more to the point where he wondered if he should call Rich to meet him at some dingy bar where he could get good and drunk. Rich always did know where the best places were to get totally smashed to the point where you wouldn't remember why you were getting drunk in the first place. Not to mention that Rich was a champion at getting drunk. But Percy knew that alcohol wouldn't cure him of his anger and disappointment. And besides, Rich was probably out with some gorgeous woman who he would flaunt in Percy's face Monday morning.

Shaking his head, Percy was about to get in his car, when he heard her call his name.

"Percy! Don't go!"

He saw her running down the path towards him. He walked around his car and she flung herself into his arms. He hugged her tightly before her lips crushed against his.

"Annabeth," he said, trying to fight the urges he was having with the thoughts in his head.

"Make love to me, Percy," she whispered against his ear.

He kissed her one more time, pouring everything he had into the kiss. He wanted to give in to her request, but he knew better.

She began to tug on his shirt, pulling him towards her, but he pulled away, stopping her.

"What I said up there, Annabeth," he began. "It wasn't to make you…"

"I know." She kissed him again. His head was spinning. He was trying to regain control, but it was becoming too difficult.

"Annabeth…"

"Make love to me," she repeated.

"Gods, I wish you'd stop saying that." It was getting harder to resist.

"Don't you want to?" She asked, almost pouting.

"More than you can imagine, but…"

"Then what are we waiting for?"

She wasn't sounding or acting like herself, but she didn't care. She knew what she wanted. It was time to put her past behind her.

"When I said that I would one day make love to you, I didn't mean…"

"Percy," she interrupted, her mouth close to his. "I'm tired of thinking. I'm tired of being afraid. I know what I want. And I want you…Seaweed Brain."

He laughed into her mouth as she kissed him. She pushed her body against his and he felt the back of his knees hit the car. Remembering that they were still outside, he stopped kissing her long enough to reach for her hand and motion towards the apartment building. She smiled at him and they walked together down the path and into her apartment.

With the door wide open from when Annabeth had gone running frantically out of the room, Percy walked in the room first with Annabeth close behind. She closed the apartment door and stood, facing the doorway. Her mind was racing, her heart beating louder than she ever thought possible. She was scared to death, but she knew what her heart wanted. It wanted him.

As she finally let go of the door handle, she felt him close behind her. He put his hand on her shoulder and she turned around. He dipped his head, ready to kiss her, but she backed up.

"Are you…having second thoughts?" He asked.

"No, no second thoughts."

"Because if you are having second thoughts, we can stop whenever you want."

"It's not second thoughts. I trust you, Percy."

"Then what's wrong?"

She paused. "I don't know how."

"How to what?"

"To…do this. I'm not sure if I'm any good at it," she rambled.

He silenced her with a light kiss. "I love you, Annabeth," he said as he swept off her feet and walked into her bedroom.

*****

He watched the sunlight streaming in through the window flicker off her naked back. He listened to the sound of her slow and steady breathing. She slept with her back to him, the sheet covering most of her perfect body, but leaving her back exposed. Her hair cascaded across the pillow onto his own pillow. He ran his hand threw the blonde strands and kissed her shoulder. He smiled as he heard her sigh in her sleep. He hoped it was a sigh of contentment.

He felt like he could watch her sleep all day. Of course, there was one thing that he could think of that was a little more exciting than sleeping. Actually, a lot more exciting. As he leaned over her, he saw a small, three-inch scar that ran across her back. It was one he hadn't noticed during the night. Seeing it made his blood boil. She was right, she did have scars, but Percy didn't care. Just as he had said, she was as beautiful as when he first saw her. Percy ran his fingertips lightly down the scar and kissed it. She stirred underneath him. He trailed his finger across her back and over her shoulder.

"Mmm," she moaned, opening her eyes.

"Good morning," he whispered.

"Morning."

She immediately reached for the sheet, pulling it closer to her chin and rolled onto her back. He was lying on his side next to her, leaning on his elbow.

"You don't have to cover yourself," he said, putting his hand over hers, which clutched the sheet. "You're beautiful."

"You're going to spoil me," she replied, relaxing her grip on the sheet.

"That's my plan." She smiled. "How'd you sleep?"

"Better than ever."

"No nightmares?"

"No nightmares. How about you?"

"Not a nightmare in sight."

She smiled. He leaned down and brushed his lips slowly against hers.

"I've been waiting a while to do that."

"How long have you been up?"

"About an hour."

"You've been watching me sleep for an hour?"

"Yes. Well, almost an hour. I stopped to pee about half an hour ago."

"That's slightly…creepy."

"I was going for romantic, but creepy works too."

He leaned down and kissed her again. As their kiss intensified, he rolled on top of her, straddling her body. He ran his hands over every spot he had access to. He couldn't get enough of her. He only stopped when he heard her stomach growl. Hovering above her, he laughed.

"Sorry," she apologized, her cheeks turning ever redder than they were from the passion she felt.

"You need to stop apologizing."

"Sor…"

"I'll make you something to eat," he offered. "And then we can get back to this later." He kissed her again. "You stay put."

He winked at her before hopping out of bed. He didn't bother to put on any more clothes than the boxers he was wearing. Annabeth admired his almost naked form as he walked out of the room. She rolled onto her side and hugged his pillow, taking in his scent. It was a smell she would never grow tired of. She couldn't help but smile at the memories of the night.

Glancing over at the clock, Annabeth realized why she was so hungry. It was almost noon. She never slept that late, but then again, she had never stayed up quite so late doing so much physical activity.

The night was more than she could have hoped for. Percy did everything to make her feel comfortable and loved and she appreciated it beyond what words could express. She couldn't help but smile. For the first time, she felt alive. And, for the first time, Luke was powerless over her.

When she heard the sound of pots banging together, her smile spread and she laughed out loud. He wasn't lying when he said he wasn't the best cook. Slowly, Annabeth peeled the covers off of her and searched the floor for her clothes. Her underwear was next to the bed, but she wasn't sure where her dress was. It had somehow gotten lost in the shuffle. Shrugging, she simply pulled on her underwear and pulled his T-Shirt on over her head.

She walked into the kitchen where Percy was spraying a little bit too much cooking spray into a frying pan.

"I thought I told you to stay…" he looked up and nearly dropped the pan.

"What?" She asked, afraid she had done something wrong.

"Wow."

"Wow?"

"You look…"

He was still staring at her and it was making her nervous. Annabeth ran her hands through her hair, trying to tame it. She was feeling more self-conscious by the second. Maybe she should have thrown on other clothes or at the very least, done something to her hair. Maybe he was disgusted by her.

"Amazing," he finished.

"What?" She stumbled, confused.

"If I knew you would look that good in my shirt, I'd have given you my whole wardrobe a long time ago."

She blushed as her fears evaporated.

"If I recall," she said playfully, "I wore your shirt last month and you didn't quite have the same reaction."

"That's because last month it would have been totally inappropriate. But trust me, I was thinking it. Now why aren't you in bed?"

"Because I was afraid you'd burn down my kitchen."

He looked at her as if she had wounded him.

"I'll have you know," he said. "That I make the world's best scrambled eggs."

He took the eggs out of the refrigerator and placed them on the counter.

"World's best, huh?"

"World's best," he repeated. "Now, go back to bed and breakfast will be served soon."

"Actually, I think it's time for lunch."

"Okay then. We'll call it brunch. Now scoot."

"I'd rather stay here and watch you work. It's not every day I have a half naked man in my kitchen making me breakfast."

"Brunch," he correct smiling. "And what about Jacque, your cook with the nice ass?"

"Oh him? I think he's been replaced."

"By?"

"By a man who can't cook, but who has a much nicer…" She walked over to him and kissed him lightly. "Smile," she finished.

He swatted her playfully on the butt. "I'll give you a nice smile," he said kissing her again. He put his arms on either side of the counter, trapping her.

"I thought you were cooking me breakfast," she stated, her stomach growling.

"I am."

He let go of her and picked up one of the eggs. He cracked the egg into a small bowl and added some milk. She walked over to the other side of the kitchen, opened the cabinet, and took out two plates.

"And what do you think you're doing?" He asked.

"Setting the table," she answered, bringing the plates over to the small kitchen table in the corner.

"No. You are not lifting a finger. Now sit."

"Are you always this bossy?" She asked teasingly.

"Only when I have to be. Now sit."

She sat at the table and watched him work. He whisked the eggs and milk together and poured the mixture into the pan on the stove. Every once and a while, he would look over at her and make a silly face that made her laugh uncontrollably. As he placed two pieces of toast into her toaster, she looked at him, so perfectly scar-free and again doubt filled her mind. She tucked her knees up to her chest.

"Percy…"

He was busy concentrating on the eggs. "Yeah?"

"Last night…it was…alright for you, wasn't it?" He looked up at her. "I mean, I'm probably not as good as what you're used to, but…"

He crossed the gap between them in three long strides and kissed her hard.

"Does that answer your question?"

She nodded. "I just wanted to make sure that…"

"Annabeth, you are beautiful and perfect and last night was amazing. And I love you."

She had forgotten he had said those three words to her. In all of the passion of the night, they had somehow slipped away. It was crazy to think that they had only been reunited for such a short time and already he was saying those words to her, but then again she knew that they had been in love since they were twelve years old. The only thing she needed to do to make it perfect was to say it back to him.

"And if you need for me to prove to you just how much I want you, we can go for round two."

"Wouldn't this technically be round four?"

He smirked and began to ravage her neck with kisses. His hand slid underneath his oversized shirt that covered her gorgeous curves.

"Percy," she whimpered. He moaned in return. "The eggs!"

He looked over at the stove and saw a large amount of steam flowing from the pan. He quickly ran over to the stove, but it was too late. The eggs were more black than yellow. Using a potholder, he picked up the pan and threw it into the sink. He ran cold water over it, causing it to sizzle.

"So much for the world's best eggs," she said.

"Well, they would have been the world's best eggs if I hadn't been distracted."

"I thought you liked distractions." He was about to walk over to her and start where he had left off, but then his own stomach grumbled.

"I've got frozen waffles in the freezer," she said.

She walked over to the freezer and took out the box of waffles. She handed him two and he went to put t hem in the toaster when he remember the toast.

"Well, guess there won't be any toast either," he said, taking the charred pieces of what used to bread out of the toaster. He threw the bread away and put in the two waffles.

"I'll be right back," she stated.

She kissed him on the cheek before heading off to the bathroom. She hadn't realized just how badly she had to use the bathroom. Not to mention that considering she didn't brush her teeth last night before she went to bed, nor had she brushed them this morning, Percy was probably disgusted.

As the waffles cooked, Percy reached for a drawer. He had no idea where the silverware was, but he knew it had to be around somewhere. The first drawer he opened had large serving spoons in it. The second drawer he opened looked like a junk drawer full of pens, paper, and other paraphernalia that had no other place except to live in a junk drawer. He was going to close it when something caught his eye. Moving a large chip bag out of the way, he uncovered a photograph. He recognized Annabeth immediately, holding a glass of some kind of red liquid. But it was the person on the left who shocked him.

Author's Note: I know, I know another cliffy. Everyone's going to start to hate me, but the next one will begin to tell all!


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

Percy stared at the photograph, unable to take his eyes off of it. He was trying to convince himself that he wasn't seeing what he was seeing, but he couldn't deny it. Photographs don't lie. She was there, staring at him almost as if taunting him. He tried to think of how she would explain it to him. Maybe she had a reasonable, logical explanation. But the more he stared at it, the more he knew that there wasn't one.

In the bathroom, Annabeth spit out the last bit of toothpaste and rinsed out her mouth. She put the toothbrush back in its holder and grabbed her hairbrush. She brushed through her tangled hair until it looked presentable again. She wondered how Percy could look so damn attractive in the morning while she seemed to look like hell. As she looked in the mirror, she realized it didn't matter because she was smiling. She hadn't smiled that much in a very long time and it felt good.

Feeling better, Annabeth walked out of the bathroom and back towards the kitchen. Percy's back was to her.

"So, how are those waffles coming?" Annabeth asked as she walked over to the counter. She couldn't quite see his face, but she sensed that something was wrong. "Percy?"

He finally turned to look at her. Anger was written all over his face. Annabeth's smile disappeared.

"What's this?" Percy asked, holding up the picture.

Annabeth took a step closer and gasped.

"Where did you find that?" She asked. She had been so careful to get rid of anything that would reveal Thalia, but she obviously hadn't been careful enough.

"Answer me," he replied sternly.

"Percy…" She felt her world crashing down before her eyes.

"You still keep in contact with Thalia?" He asked fiercly.

Annabeth took a deep breath. "Yes."

"And you didn't tell me?"

"I just…didn't think it was important."

"Not important?" He was almost shouting. "She's the one person you know that I wish I could talk to and you didn't think it was important for me to know that you know her?"

He looked back at the picture. It was one of Annabeth and Thalia standing next to each other, each holding up a glass of champagne. They were both smiling and Thalia had a hat on her head that said 'Happy New Year.' From the look of the photo, it wasn't taken that long ago.

"Do you still talk to her?"

"What?"

"Are you still in contact with Thalia?" He questioned. He could feel his blood pressure rising. He wanted answers.

Annabeth put her head down as if she were being reprimanded. "Yes. We're…friends."

"Friends?" He repeated. "You're friends with the person who told me you were

dead…who convinced me to leave you there with him…and you didn't tell me?"

She looked away from him, unable to meet his eyes. "It's not what you think."

"Then explain it to me."

Annabeth sighed. She knew she would have to come clean. Thalia couldn't be a secret anymore.

"We're not just friends," Annabeth stated.

"How do you mean?"

"Thalia's my roommate."

He shook his head in disbelief and dropped the photo. It clanged against the floor, but the glass didn't break.

"Thalia's your roommate? She lives here?" Annabeth nodded. "This just keeps getting better and better."

"Percy, please, it's not…"

"Don't tell me it's not what I think because it is what I think!" He shouted.

"I'm sorry."

He didn't respond right away, trying to think of something to say. What was he supposed to say when he had obviously been lied to? So he did the only thing he could think of. He yelled.

"You know her, Annabeth! She lives here!" Suddenly, a thought clicked in his head. "So that's why you never wanted me here. You were hiding her from me."

"I know I should have told you, but I was afraid that you would be angry with her and…"

Annabeth put her hand on Percy's arm, but he shrugged her off. The toaster popped, but they both ignored it.

"Angry?" He was angry. He could feel the anger building. It was choosing who he was angry at that was the problem. Thalia or Annabeth. "She told me you were dead, Annabeth! How exactly do you think I should feel about her?"

"You can't blame her, Percy. She was only trying to pro…"

She stopped mid-sentence. She couldn't tell him. Telling him would be the thing that she had been trying to avoid. The moment she dreaded was staring her in the face.

"Trying to what?"

"She was just doing what she had to do."

"How's that?"

"Look, it was a long time ago. Can't we just forget what happened?"

He moved closer to her, but still kept his distance. He was afraid if he were too close, he would lose it. He needed to stay angry with her to find out what he needed to know even though it was difficult. So many people had told him that he needed to forget what had happened, but he couldn't forget. He looked at her, piercing her with his eyes.

"What was Thalia trying to do?" He asked. She didn't answer. "Annabeth, what was she trying to do?"

"She was trying to protect you," she answered quietly.

"Protect me?"

"Not just you. We were trying to protect everyone. You, Grover, Tyson…all of Camp Half-blood."

"We?"

"Please, Percy, just leave it alone."

She was close to tears, but she willed herself not to cry.

"You want me to leave it alone? I find out that you're roommates with the person who ruined my life and you want me to leave it alone?"

"Thalia did not ruin your life."

"No? Then who did?"

"If anything, she made it better. She made it better for you and all half-bloods."

"No. Thalia did not make my life better." He paused, collecting his thoughts. "What did you do, Annabeth? What did you and Thalia do?"

"I don't want to…"

"Damn it, Annabeth! If you don't tell me what happened, I'll..."

She looked up at him sharply. "You'll what?"

He put his head down, unable to say anything. There was nothing he could do. He wanted so desperately to know the truth, but there was nothing he could do. He couldn't make Annabeth tell him. He could never hurt her like that.

Annabeth stared at him, his head low. His eyes, which were usually vibrant and alive, looked dull and sad. She could tell him that she didn't want to talk about what happened or that she couldn't remember what happened, but seeing the hurt on his face changed her mind. She knew that it would end whatever relationship it was that they had, but it was worth it. She couldn't stand hurting him anymore.

Percy sighed. This wasn't what he wanted. He wanted to be with her, but everything had changed. Everything he thought he knew was wrong.

He began to walk off to the bedroom to gather his things and leave when he saw her make her way over to the table. She wasn't sure if she would be able to tell him everything he needed to know standing up.

"You might want to take the waffles out before they burn down my apartment. This could be a long story."

Percy stopped in his tracks. He looked over at her, her legs tucked underneath her and her arms hugging her body. She looked small and frail. In any other circumstance, he would walk over to her and wrap his arms around her and tell her that everything would be okay, but he knew he couldn't. Instead, he quickly took the waffles out of the toaster, threw them on a plate, and left them in the middle of the counter. Neither of them were hungry anymore.

He walked over to the table and sat down across from her.

"Do you remember the prophecy?" She asked quietly.

Percy thought for a moment. He had spent a long time analyzing the prophecy after what had happened, wondering if he had missed something. After not being able to decode it, he spent an even longer amount of time trying to forget it.

"I remember something about a soul not returning," Percy answered.

"He will come. He will lead, but may never get the chance, because he who she loves may face his flaw. She will try to stop him, but her soul will not return. Love will not be enough."

Annabeth recited it from memory. She had never been able to forget the prophecy that had sealed her fate.

"So what about the prophecy?"

"Don't you see? Our fate was never to be together."

Author's Note: First off, I apologize for the delay in posting a new chapter. I've been bombarded with school work. Secondly, I know this chapter didn't include the answers you wanted, but I promise the next one will. Hope you enjoyed!


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

"He will come. He will lead, but may never get the chance, because he who she loves may face his flaw. She will try to stop him, but her soul will not return. Love will not be enough."

Annabeth recited it from memory. She had never been able to forget the prophecy that had sealed her fate.

"So what about the prophecy?"

"Don't you see? Our fate was never to be together."

Percy ran his hand threw his hair and took a deep breath. He looked over at Annabeth who had a tear rolling down her cheek. He hated to see her cry. He leaned over to wipe it away, but then he stopped and sat back. He had questions that needed answers. Questions that couldn't be deterred by tears.

"What do you mean?" He asked. "How can you say that our fate was never to be together?"

"The prophecy."

"But we never did completely figure out the prophecy."

"Thalia and I did."

"What? When?"

"The night you and I received the prophecy. I told Thalia what it said."

"And what? The two of you just figured it out?"

She nodded. "Yes."

"Just like that? How could you and Thalia figure it out when you and I couldn't?"

"Because I already had an idea of what it meant. I just needed her help in making sense of it all."

"Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you tell me that you figured it out?"

"It wasn't that simple."

"Apparently nothing's as simple as I thought it was."

"The first line was easy," Annabeth continued, basically ignoring his comment.

"Yeah, you and I figured that out. Luke and his army were coming to Camp Half-blood."

"Yes. And we knew that the second line, 'he will lead,' was about you."

"How could you have been sure?"

"Because the third part was about me."

Percy recited the third line out loud. "'Because he who she loves may face his flaw.' How could that have been about you?"

"Because you were the one I loved."

Her words struck him and made him smile, but then he shook his head. "But I don't understand."

"It said 'he will lead, which meant that you will lead, 'but may never get the chance because he who she loves,' also meaning you, 'may face his flaw.' It meant your fatal flaw, Percy…loyalty."

He looked at her quizzically. "I'm still not following."

"It means you would die trying to rescue me."

"How can you know that?"

"Because you were the one who was meant to fight, Percy. But you wouldn't have gotten the chance to fight if you had died trying to save me. I couldn't let that happen."

"So all this time…you didn't want me to save you?"

"I knew you would try. But that was part of the prophecy. You had to try and fail." Another tear slipped down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away. "So I told Thalia to do anything she could so that you wouldn't try and save me."

"So Thalia lied to me? She told me you were dead when you weren't?"

"She didn't know if I was dead or not, but she knew she had to get you out of there because she knew that you were the one who had to lead everyone else. You were the one who had to save camp."

"You were willing to die to save everyone?"

"Weren't you?"

"But why didn't you tell me that you figured it out?"

"Because you never would have gone along with it. You never would have willingly let me go. And I wasn't exactly ready to admit that I was in love with you."

"If you had told me, we could have come up with something else. We could have had a plan."

"The prophecy never lies, Percy. I had to try."

"What are you talking about, you had to try?"

"The prophecy said, 'she will try to stop him.' I had to try and stop Luke."

"But how?"

"He never came into camp and kidnapped me, Percy."

His jaw dropped. "What?"

"I found him."

"You mean you let him kidnap you willingly?"

"I wouldn't exactly say that. I decided to leave camp to find him. I thought maybe if I could talk to him…if I could reason with him, I could stop him. That's what the prophecy said I had to do."

"Did you honestly think you could reason with him?"

"I had to try."

"You still loved him, didn't you?"

"What?"

"The prophecy isn't something that's meant to be followed. It's a look into the future. So you didn't go to find Luke because that's what the prophecy said. You went to find Luke because you were still convinced he was good."

"I did what I did for you."

"For me? I have been in agony these last ten years wondering what I did wrong. Wondering how I could have let him take you out from under my nose and kill you. You didn't do this for me, Annabeth. You did it because you wanted to believe in him." He could feel the anger returning.

"I'm sorry that you've been hurt, Percy, but I did what I had to do even if it meant sacrificing myself."

"No, what you did was selfish."

"Selfish? I went there even though I knew I would fail! Even though I knew that I could die."

"You should have told me what you were planning!"

"Why? So you could have gotten yourself killed?!"

"The prophecy never said who had to lead, Annabeth. It could have been you. It could have been anyone! Did you ever think about that?"

She shook her head.

"You were the one they needed, Percy. You've known that since you were twelve years old. If you hadn't led them, Camp Half-blood wouldn't exist anymore! None of it would exist anymore! And then everyone…me, Grover, Tyson, Chirion, we'd all be dead! Is that what you wanted?!"

"You say that prophecies are never wrong, but this prophecy was wrong because you're here talking to me. The prophecy said, 'but her soul will not return.' Your soul did return. You didn't die."

"You're right." She looked down at the floor. She felt emotionally drained. "I didn't die, but what Luke took from me…he took my soul, Percy. He may not have been able to physically take life from me, but he took everything else. He took my dignity, my trust, my entire being…he took it all. Even you."

"Me?"

"I knew you could never have feelings for me after what he did to me."

"How could you know that?"

"Because you had moved on."

"What are you talking about?"

She sighed. She knew if she was going to come clean with him, she had to tell him everything.

"I didn't have amnesia, Percy. I wasn't found by a couple in Florida. After the battle, when Luke didn't return, the few people who were left in his army didn't know what to do. They were without a leader and without support so they simply…disbanded. And then I was left, tied up in Luke's lair. I managed to coerce one of his cronies to untie me and I made my way back to camp."

"You were there? At camp?"

She nodded. "I collapsed right at the camp's border and Thalia found me. I was in and out of consciousness for weeks. Finally, when I came to, Thalia told me what happened. I asked for you, but she said you had left camp and hadn't come back. It took another two weeks for me to convince Thalia to let me leave camp to find you."

"Then why didn't you find me?"

"I did."

"But…"

"I went to your mother's house and I saw you. I could see you through your bedroom window. I was going to start shouting your name and telling you that I was alright, but then I saw her."

"Saw who?"

"Rachel Elizabeth Dare."

"What?"

"She was with you in your room."

"Rachel?" He tried to remember her. "We were just friends."

"I saw you kiss her."

The memory finally popped into Percy's head. Rachel had kissed him, but it meant nothing. She was his friend trying to comfort him after an awful tragedy. She might have wanted more, but he didn't. When she kissed him, the only thing he thought of was how much he missed Annabeth.

"It was just a stupid kiss."

"When I saw her, her perfect features and flawless skin…I looked down at myself. I was covered in scars and bruises and…Thalia had to cut most of my hair off because it was so badly matted and tangled. I knew you would never want me. So I left."

"You left me thinking you were dead because you saw me kiss a girl who meant nothing to me?"

"I was sixteen, Percy. What did you expect me to do?"

"So everything you've ever told me was a lie?"

"I was trying to protect myself."

"What about me? Did you ever think about what I would think?"

"It wasn't all a lie. I did go to California to be with my family and then I moved to New York when my dad got sick and…"

"But there was never amnesia! There was never a family from Florida who took you in! You had me and my mother feeling things for you that never even existed! You might have been sixteen and hurting and scared when you came to find me, and I can forgive you for that. But that was a long time ago, Annabeth. In the last ten years you became an adult and you still never came to find me. You just let me think you were dead!"

"I didn't know what else to do."

"Our entire relationship is built on a lie."

"Why do you think I didn't want this to become a relationship, Percy?"

"Because you were too much of a coward to admit that you made a mistake. Instead of just coming forward, you lied about everything. I feel like everything I've ever known is a complete lie!"

He stood up, his hands balled up at his sides. He closed his eyes, trying to process all of the information he had just heard.

"Percy, I'm sorry."

"What if you were wrong?"

"What?"

"What if you were wrong about the prophecy? What if it never was about me?"

"But it was about you. You had to lead..."

"You don't know that." He paused. "What if it was about Luke?"

"Well, the first part was about Luke, but…"

"What if the whole thing was about Luke? What if he was the one who was meant to lead, but may never get the chance because I killed him? And what if he was the one who may face his flaw because he was the one you loved?"

Annabeth opened her mouth speak, but no words came out. She had always been sure that she had done what she had to do for the good of everyone. But suddenly she wasn't so sure. Suddenly she realized that she may have made the biggest mistake of her life.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered.

Percy shook his head and walked out of the room.

Author's Note: Phew…logistically speaking, this chapter was a nightmare. Ever since I started this story, I've been planning this chapter, but hadn't realized just how difficult it would be to actually write. Anyway, I hope it all made sense and that it answered some of your burning questions. Don't worry, there's more to come!


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

Percy wasn't sure what was worse. That Annabeth had lied to him or that he had walked away from the only woman he had ever loved. He hadn't even bothered to get his shirt back from Annabeth. He knew that if he saw her take it off, he would never leave. And he had to leave. His life had been turned upside-down again for the second time. So, instead of waiting around for her apologies and excuses, he had thrown on his Jeans, pulled his coat on and left her apartment. He could hear her crying when he closed the door.

Percy wiped a tear from his own eyes as he pulled away from her apartment. Lucky he didn't get a speeding ticket, he drove to his apartment disobeying most traffic laws. He thought about going to his mom's to tell her everything, but he realized that he didn't want to be with anyone. He wanted to be alone.

He trudged into his apartment, slamming the door behind him. He considered going for a beer, but he knew that wouldn't be enough to dull the pain that his heart felt. He was tired, mentally and physically. As he dragged himself into his bedroom and threw himself onto the bed, he tried not to think about her, but he couldn't think of anything else. Somehow he had gone from being alone to finding the friend he thought he had lost to falling in love to feeling such despair that he had never felt before. She had lied to him. Every part of their relationship had been a lie. He reached for the pillow she had slept on when she had slept at his apartment. It no longer smelled like her, but he clutched it in his arms and cried into it.

*****

Annabeth stood in the kitchen in complete shock. She was trying to figure out exactly what had happened. She had never meant to tell him everything. The plan had always been to keep everything away from him forever, but she knew she had broken that rule the minute she had kissed him. She couldn't be with him and not tell him. It hurt them both too much. She knew that she only had herself to blame. She should have walked away from him the moment she ran into him in the hallway. Then maybe her heart would just go back to aching rather than being completely broken.

She looked around the kitchen as if she were looking for something to do. She didn't want to think about what had happened, but she couldn't help it. Percy had been right. The prophecy wasn't about her and Percy. It was about her and Luke. She had been in love with Luke and had been too stupid to realize it. And now, ten years later, she was paying for it. Percy would never forgive her for lying to him then and she would never be able to forgive herself for the pain she had caused him.

She picked up the picture of Thalia and her that had fallen to the floor. As she stared at it, she thought back to when they were children living at Camp Half-blood together. Even though their lives were at stake on a daily basis, things seemed simpler back then.

She dropped the picture back into the drawer and felt a tear roll down her cheek. She walked back to her bedroom and looked at herself in the mirror. Only a half hour before when she looked in the mirror of the bathroom did she see herself as a new woman. She felt strong, beautiful, and, for the first time, wanted. Now, as she looked in the mirror, she felt every scar burning into her skin as if the fresh cuts were reappearing again. She felt so unwanted it hurt.

As she was about to turn away, she noticed that she was still wearing his shirt. She clutched the front of it with her right hand and began to sob.

*****

Percy opened his eyes when he heard the sound of his front door opening and the subsequent crash seconds later. He hadn't realized that he had fallen asleep, but, as he looked out the window, he realized that the sun was beginning to set. He heard another loud crash.

"Grover?" He called out.

"I'm okay!" Grover replied.

Percy willed himself to get out of bed. He didn't want to get up. He felt like he never wanted to get up again. Still, Grover being home was strange since Percy knew he was on a mission to save another half-blood and he had to find out what was going on. As Percy walked out of his bedroom and down the hallway towards Grover's bedroom, he saw him sitting on the floor among a pile of old cans and other such garbage.

"Hey," Grover said, looking up at him and smiling.

Percy reached out his hand and helped Grover to his feet.

"You okay?" Percy asked.

"Yup, fine." Grover popped one of the cans into his mouth.

"Grover, your room is a mess."

Grover's room was one of the reasons Percy hardly let anyone come over. Even Rich had never seen Percy's apartment. Somehow Percy couldn't see Rich understanding why he had a room full of garbage. Of course, he hadn't cared about Annabeth seeing it because she would understand. But that was before.

"It's not a mess. It's in case I get hungry." He paused and noticed that Percy wasn't listening. "Percy…Percy!"

"Sorry, what?"

"Man, you look awful."

"Thanks."

"Did you just get up or something?"

"Sort of," Percy answered, running his hand through his messy hair. "What are you doing here, anyway? I thought you were in the Bronx this week."

"I was. Until I felt you."

"What?"

"Empathy link, remember?"

"Empathy link? We haven't used that in…"

"Years, I know. I guess it only works when something really bad happens. So, what happened?"

Percy shook his head and began to walk away.

"I don't want to talk about it," he answered.

Grover followed him into the kitchen. Percy opened the refrigerator and began to scan its contents.

"You can't drink your feelings away, you know," Grover stated. Percy grabbed a piece of leftover pizza and held it out to show Grover before taking a bite. Percy practically ate the piece in one bite. He hadn't realized how hungry he was. Of course, it made sense, he hadn't eaten since the night before and it was nearing dinnertime. "Or eat them away for that matter."

"Annabeth wasn't who I thought she was," Percy stated as he reached for his second piece.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean she lied." Percy walked over to the couch and sat down. Grover followed.

"Lied about what?"

Percy told him. He told him about the prophecy and the plan that Annabeth and Thalia made. He told him about where Annabeth had really been for the last ten years and how she had come back to find Percy, but saw him kissing Rachel so she left for good. The only part he left out was that he was in love with her.

"Wow," Grover said when Percy had finished.

"Yeah. I mean, I thought Annabeth was my…our friend." He lowered his voice. "I thought she was more than my friend and then she goes off to fight Luke by herself as if it were nothing."

"You sound surprised."

"Of course I'm surprised! She was willing to get herself killed for a man who never loved her and she didn't tell me about it! She just left us all behind and even had a plan so that I wouldn't try to save her. And now she's been lying about it for the last ten years."

"Is that really what's bothering you?"

"What?"

"Are you really upset over the fact that she lied? Or even the fact that she tried to save camp even if it was a dumb plan?"

"I'm not following."

"You're not angry at her because she lied to you about where she's been for the last ten years. And you're not angry that she was willing to give her life because you would have done the same thing."

"Then what am I angry about?"

"You're angry that she still loved him."

"Of course I'm angry that she loved him! Only an idiot would still love him after what he did to us!"

"Or maybe you're angry because she should have loved you."

"What? That's crazy!"  
"Percy, you and Annabeth always made an interesting pair. You thought alike, you acted alike…you made up for each other's faults. Anyone could have seen that you two were made for each other. Anyone but you two. You were so wrapped up in who you were and what your future held and Annabeth…she was so wrapped up in proving that Luke was innocent. She would have followed you to her death, Percy, because she cared about you, but you have to remember, Luke saved her. Luke became the family that Annabeth never had. Of course she would love him even when it didn't make sense to. But that doesn't mean that she loved you any less. She just hadn't figured it out. And, might I remind you, neither had you."

"I just don't know why she didn't talk to me then."

"If you thought the prophecy meant that you had to go try and stop Luke even though it might kill you, wouldn't you go?"

"Well, of course, but…"

"And, if you thought not telling us about it would save me and Tyson and Annabeth, would you tell us?"

Percy sighed. "No."

*****

Thalia made her way into the kitchen. In all of her years of traveling, she had learned that it was worth starving if it meant you didn't have to eat airplane food. She hungrily looked in the refrigerator. She was glad that Annabeth was always eating out. Eating out meant leftovers. Thalia opened a few different Styrofoam containers before she settled on some leftover pasta. She sniffed it, making sure it wasn't too old, and popped it in the microwave. She was sure Annabeth wouldn't mind if she ate it. After all, there were plenty of other leftovers to choose from.

As Thalia went to grab some silverware, she noticed the drawer open. She was going to close it when she saw the picture on the top of the pile of junk. It was one of her favorite pictures of her and Annabeth, but there could only be one reason why it was out like that.

Ignoring her hunger, Thalia walked through the hallway and stopped outside of Annabeth's room. The door was closed. She knocked lightly.

Annabeth heard the knock, but chose to ignore it. She felt like she never wanted to move again.

"Annabeth, open up!" Thalia yelled, pounding on the door.

Annabeth groaned. She looked down at his shirt. She still hadn't taken it off even though wearing it hurt her more.

"Annabeth!" Thalia shouted.

Annabeth dragged herself out of bed and opened the door.

"What?" She asked, trying to pretend that nothing was wrong, but she knew that Thalia would know better.

Thalia held up the picture. "What happened?"

"He's gone," Annabeth answered.

"What happened?" Thalia repeated.

"He found the picture and I told him everything. And now he's gone." She sighed. "And he was right."

"Right about what?"

"Me. Luke. The prophecy. How could I have been so stupid?" Annabeth began to slink back into her room, but Thalia grabbed her arm.

"Okay, come on." She began to pull at Annabeth.

"Where are we going?"

"First we're going to get some food in you. Then you're going to tell me exactly what happened. Then I'm going to knock some sense into you."

"Please, Thalia, just leave me alone."

"Now what kind of friend would I be if I did that?"

She practically dragged Annabeth into the kitchen and sat her down at the table. The table was already set from breakfast. Thalia took the pasta out of the microwave and set it down in front of Annabeth.

"Now eat."

Annabeth stared at the pasta. She hesitantly picked up the fork. She was hungry. As Annabeth began to slowly eat the leftovers, Thalia went back to the fridge to rummage for something else. A few minutes later, as she pulled a frozen dinner out the microwave, Annabeth began to spill.

It took her almost a half hour to tell the story. She started with the date, how perfect it was and how she had almost sent him away, but that she finally realized that she wanted him and needed him to help her erase the fears of her past. She skipped most of the details of the night, which Thalia said she wanted to hear at another time, and continued on to how Percy found the photograph and what happened afterward.

"Great, now he hates me, too," Thalia said.

Annabeth ignored her. "He was right about me, Thalia. I was still in love with Luke. It's taken me all this time to realize it, but I was in love with him. The prophecy wasn't about me and Percy. It was about me and Luke."

"So Percy says."

"What?"

"The prophecy works both ways, Annabeth. Maybe it was about you and Luke or maybe it was about you and Percy. There's no way to tell. The prophecies only give you a glimpse of what's to come. Nothing's written in stone and everything's up to interpretation. There's no telling who's right."

"Well, it doesn't matter. He'll never forgive me for not telling him my plan ten years ago. Not to mention that he's not too thrilled with the fact that I've been lying to his face for the last month and a half."

"You're wrong, Annabeth."

"A relationship can't be built on lies."

"But yours wasn't built on lies. Yours was built ten years ago on friendship and loyalty."

"None of that matters now."

"But it does. It matters more than ever. You made a mistake, Annabeth. But you were sixteen years old. You're not sixteen anymore."

"You weren't here, Thalia. You didn't see the way he looked at me. He was so…disappointed. So…full of hate."

"Percy has never and will never hate you."

"I've hurt him, Thalia. I've hurt him more than one person should ever be hurt. If I were him, I wouldn't forgive me either."

"Do you love him?"

"What?"

"You told me that he said that he loved you, but do you love him?"

She nodded. "Yes."

Author's Note: All I can say is thank you so much for the amazing reviews I've received. And don't worry…there's more Percabeth to come!


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

With his eyes glazed over, Percy stared at the blank paper in front of him. He was supposed to be writing up a test for his Greek history class, but Greek history was the last thing he wanted to think about. Instead of writing, he tapped his red pen against the edge of his desk, but he barely registered the noise.

It had been a week. A week since he had spoken to her. A week since he had touched her. A week days since he had felt her lips against his own.

"You know," Rich said, walking into his classroom. "You look like hell."

"That's because I am in hell," Percy replied, dropping his pen on the desk.

"Dude, why don't you just talk to her?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Percy insisted, even though he was lying. He knew exactly what Rich was talking about.

"How long have I known you?"

"Too long," Percy muttered. He wasn't in the mood for one of Rich's 'you need to get laid' speeches. He stood up and walked over to the window.

If Rich heard him, he ignored him. "In five years, I haven't seen you date once. Not once."

"Look, Rich, I'm really not…"

"Until," Rich interrupted, "she came along."

"What's your point?"

Rich made his way over to Percy and stood beside him. He put his hand on Percy's shoulder.

"My point is, get over whatever is keeping you apart, buy her some flowers and chocolate, beg for her forgiveness, and spend the rest of the night making sweet love."

Rich smiled, but Percy didn't reciprocate. He shrugged away from Rich and walked back to his desk.

"Maybe she's not the one who needs to do the forgiving. Maybe I'm not ready to forgive her."

"Trust me, when it comes to women, you should always be begging for forgiveness. Even if you have nothing to ask forgiveness for. It'll just make things easier. Matter of fact, I suggest asking for forgiveness on a regular basis. It leads to really good sex."

"Is sex all you think about?"

"Ninety-five percent of the time. Look, Percy, I've never seen you happier than when you are with her. I hate to seem cliché, but she makes you smile. I've never seen any woman make you smile. Not even the hot ones."

Percy took a deep breath. "Look, what happened between Annabeth and I is…complicated."

"So you've said, but in my experience…"

Percy turned and practically glared at him. "Your experience? And what experience would that be? You date women for what? One night? Two if they're lucky. What part of sleeping around makes you a relationship expert?"

He walked back over to his desk and sat down, burying his head in his hands. He hadn't meant to snap, but the pain was too much. He wanted to be with Annabeth, he long to be with Annabeth, but longing wasn't enough. He still wasn't sure if he could forgive her for what she had done.

"I guess my marriage doesn't count," Rich stated, heading for the door.

Percy looked up. "What?"

"My marriage. The four years I was married to the love of my life until she was taken from me by cancer."

"I'm sorry." Percy was speechless. "I didn't know. You've never…"

"Mentioned her?" Rich sat down at one of the student's desks. "That's because I don't like to talk about her. I like to keep her hear." He put the palm of his hand over his heart.

"I know the feeling."

"Look, I don't know what happened between you and Annabeth when you were kids and I don't know what happened a week ago, but I do know that when something's complicated, it usually means that it's not just one person's fault. Maybe you're not the only one who needs to forgive."

"I hate it when you're right."

"I know. Let me ask you something."

"What?"

"When I think about my wife, I think about our wedding day and our honeymoon and the mornings we would just spend looking into each other's eyes. I don't think about the last few months when she was dying. I push the bad stuff as far away from my mind as possible until it almost doesn't exist anymore. When you think about Annabeth, what do you think about?"

Percy closed his eyes and thought about her. He tried to push out everything that had happened and just think about her.

"I think about sitting by the lake when we were kids and just talking. I think about how beautiful she is when she sleeps and how amazing it feels to wake up next to her."

"Any bad stuff?"

It wasn't until Rich spoke that Percy thought about the lies Annabeth had told. Rich was right, Percy didn't think about the bad stuff. He only thought about the moments that made him smile.

"No," Percy answered.

"Then what are you still doing here?"

Percy opened his eyes. "I have no idea."

"My work here is done," Rich stated, clapping his hands together.

Percy didn't waste another second. He stood up and grabbed his coat.

"Thanks," Percy said.

"For what?"

"For stopping me from making the biggest mistake of my life."

Without another word, Percy ran out of the room, leaving Rich behind, smiling.

*****

Percy stood in front of Annabeth's apartment building. He stared at the front door. He knew it was time to forgive and ask for forgiveness. Percy approached the intercom and pressed Annabeth's number.

"Yes?" A voice rang out through the intercom.

It was somewhat garbled.

"Annabeth," he said barely above a whisper. "We need to talk."

"This isn't...," the voice became incomprehensible. Percy could only hear snippets of what she was saying. "…here…sorry."

He pressed the intercom again. "Annabeth?"

A middle-aged man came walking out of the apartment. Percy grabbed the door before it could close. He had no idea what Annabeth was trying to tell him through the intercom. Maybe she didn't want to see him or maybe she was still angry with him. No matter what, Percy was determined. He had to talk to her.

Percy took the elevator to the fourth floor. He walked over to her apartment door and took a deep breath before knocking. The door opened almost immediately.

"Annabeth, I…"

But it wasn't Annabeth who opened the door. It was Thalia. In shock, Percy simply stared at her. Of course he knew that Thalia was Annabeth's roommate. That was what had started their entire blowout in the first place. But seeing her standing there, staring right back at him, was overwhelming. He hadn't expected to see her. That hadn't been part of the plan. The plan was to tell Annabeth what he was feeling and beg for her forgiveness, not come face to face with Thalia.

"Percy, hi," Thalia said as calmly as possible. It was weird for her too to see him. Annabeth had spoken about him so much that Thalia felt like she knew him all over again as a man rather than a boy, but seeing him felt different. She had a strange rush of emotion running through her and she realized that it was because she missed him.

"Hi," he muttered back. "Is Annabeth here?"

She shook her head no. "That's what I was trying to tell you on the intercom."

Percy was disappointed. There was another wrench in his plan and it was a big one.

"Oh well, I guess I'll just stop by some other time."

Hanging his head, he began to walk back down the hallway.

"Wait!" Thalia called. Percy turned. "She should be back soon. You can wait here if you want."

Percy looked down at the floor. "I don't know if that's such a good idea."

"Look, I know this is awkward and a little…surreal, but you obviously came here for a reason and, if my senses are correct, which they usually are, Annabeth would kill me if I let you leave."

"Has she said anything about me?" Percy asked hopefully.

"You mean, has she done much else besides mope around this place for the last week? No." Thalia opened the door wider. "Please, come in."

Percy trudged into the apartment. It felt different being there with Thalia rather than Annabeth. And, of course, things were different. All of the pictures of Annabeth and Thalia were back up around the apartment and things weren't quite so neat. There were dirty dishes in the sink and a bag of groceries out on the table. Not to mention there were what appeared to be dozens of film negatives out on the coffee table in the living room.

"Can I get you anything?" Thalia asked. "Coffee? Tea? A strong drink?"

"No, no, and we'll see what Annabeth says before I accept the last one."

Thalia smiled. "Take a seat."

She sat down on the living room couch. Percy sat on a plush, leather chair across from her. Thalia picked up one of the strips of negatives and began examining them with a magnifying glass.

"You into photography?" Percy asked.

"I'm a photographer actually," Thalia answered. She handed the strip and the magnifying glass over to Percy. "Take a look."

Percy looked at the negatives.

"Is that a bear?" He asked.

"A Kodiak bear to be more specific," Thalia replied.

"It looks really close."

"That's what a zoom lens is for."

"Where were you?"

"Alaska."

"You went to Alaska to take pictures of bears?"

"And other things. Glaciers, mountains, eagles, you name it, I took pictures of it."

"I never thought you were the outdoorsy type."

She smiled. "I worked for a travel magazine. Thankfully after I take pictures of those outdoorsy things, I get to stay in five star hotels."

"Sounds like a good job."

"It is. What about you? How's teaching?"

"It's good. Not as glamorous as traveling all around the world, but I like it."

"I never pictured you as a teacher."

"Oh yeah? What did you picture me as?"

"I don't know, someone who spends his life slaying monsters and protecting the innocent."

"You make me sound like a superhero."

"Well, you sort of were."

"Not when it counted."

A thick silence fell over them. It had felt good getting back into a routine of pleasant conversation, but that was all gone.

"Percy, I'm sorry about what happened. I know that you're probably angry with me and think that what Annabeth and I did was wrong, but…"

"Forget it, Thalia."

"I can't forget about it and it's not fair to take it all out Annabeth. I went along with the plan, too so you can't blame her."

"I don't," Percy said quietly.

"I mean, we were just doing what we thought was best and…" she paused. "Wait, what did you say?"

"I said I don't blame her."

"But, Annabeth told me…"

"That I blamed her? I did. I blamed her because I thought she was wrong and I thought she was selfish. And I couldn't understand how she could do what she did."

"And now?"

"Now maybe I'll never be able to fully understand what she did or why she did it, but I don't have to. And maybe I am still a little angry, but that's okay because anger means I'm feeling something. For ten years I feel like I've just been living life and not really knowing what I'm living for. But since the moment she came back, I feel alive again. I'm not willing to give that up."

"Well, I'm glad you finally figured that out," she snapped. "Why did you wait so long to talk to her? Why a week?"

"Are you…angry with me?"

"Look, Annabeth is my best friend. I just don't want to see her hurt."

Percy sighed. "I took a week because I needed time to think. Should I have gone back to her apartment the moment I walked out on her? Yes. Should I have been on my knees begging for her forgiveness? Yes. But I needed time."

Thalia nodded and smiled. "I don't think you'll need to beg for her forgiveness."

"I promise you I'll never hurt her again. And if I do, feel free to kick my ass."

This time they both smiled. As Thalia opened her mouth to speak, the door opened.

"You wouldn't believe the traffic on First Street." Annabeth began as she came walking through the door. "It took me…"

She stopped immediately as her eyes fell on Percy.

Author's Note: Okay, so I wasn't going to bring Rich back, but it seemed like a lot of my reviewers really liked his character so I thought I'd bring him back for one last appearance. As always, thank you for my incredible reviews. Only two more chapters to go!


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

Percy stood up. Their eyes locked on one another, but neither of them moved. Thalia glanced from Annabeth to Percy and then back at Annabeth again. She grinned, knowing that if Percy told Annabeth all of the things he had just told her and if Annabeth finally admitted her true feelings for Percy, things would finally go back to the way they were always meant to be.

"Well," Thalia said, standing up. "I have to…go buy some groceries."

"Didn't you get some this morning?" Annabeth asked, not taking her eyes off of Percy.

"Well, one can never have too many groceries." Thalia quickly grabbed her coat and scarf from the coat rack and threw them on. "See you later." She slipped out of the door, closing it behind her.

"Percy," Annabeth whispered.

She couldn't believe he was really standing there in front of her. She had spent the week hoping that she would wake up to find him there in her living room, but he never was. She thought about going to him. She would have dropped down on her knees and begged for his forgiveness if she thought it would help, but she knew that it wouldn't. He had made it clear that he wanted nothing to do with her. And yet, there he was, standing there in her living room. If she could have moved, she would have pinched herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming. But she couldn't move. She felt paralyzed.

"Hi," he said. He knew he should have said more. He should have blurted out what he needed to say, but he couldn't. All he could do was stare at her. Her face was red from the cold, her hair, which looked as if it had been in a bun at the back of her head, was windswept and messy, but she looked beautiful.

"Hi," she replied.

"I…Thalia let me in," he explained. He was trying to think of the right words to say, but it seemed as if everything he wanted to say was lost. "I hope you don't mind. I just wanted to…I mean, I want…"

"Oh." She finally tore her eyes away from his. She felt the tears coming, but she wouldn't cry. At least not in front of him. She berated herself for even thinking that he was back to tell her that it had all been a mistake and that he still loved her. Of course he hadn't forgiven her. Of course he didn't love her. He had only come because he wanted what she had taken from him.

"Annabeth…" Percy began, walking closer to her.

"I'll just go…get it for you," Annabeth said.

She brushed past him quickly, wanting to get the moment over with as quickly as possible, and headed off in the direction of her bedroom.

"Get what?" Percy asked.

She didn't answer. He followed her as she walked into her bedroom and opened the top drawer of her bureau. Annabeth knew exactly where it was. She had worn it to bed every night that week, but he didn't need to know that.

"Get what?" Percy repeated.

"Your shirt."

"My shirt?" Percy hadn't even remembered she was wearing his shirt when he left. It was the last thing on his mind.

"Isn't that what you came here for? To get your shirt back?"

She picked his shirt up, again, willing herself not to cry. It was only a shirt, but somehow it had meant something to her. She held it out to him.

"I didn't come here for the shirt," Percy stated.

"What?"

"I said, I didn't come here for the shirt."

"Then why did you come?"

He put his hand on her arm. "Because we need to talk." He walked over to the bed and sat down. He patted the empty space next to him, wanting her to sit. She didn't move. She couldn't sit next to him. She couldn't be that physically close to him. It hurt too much.

"Look, Percy, I…"

"Annabeth, please just sit down."

Annabeth placed the shirt on the top of the bureau and closed the drawer. If he still wanted the shirt, it was his to have. Taking a deep breath, she headed for the bed. She shrugged off her coat and threw it behind her as she sat down beside him. Percy turned his body so he was facing her.

"I came here to tell you that I'm sorry."

Annabeth looked at him sharply. She wasn't sure if she had heard him correctly.

"What?"

"I'm sorry, Annabeth. I'm sorry for walking out on you, I'm sorry for the things I said and for…"

"But you shouldn't be sorry. You were right. I was the one who ruined everything. I was the stupid one who was still in love with someone who was out to destroy us. I'm the one who caused you all this pain and who…"

"I don't care about that. You were young, Annabeth. We were all so young."

"I know. It was a mistake. It was all a big mistake and I'll never…"

"You're right," he cut her off. He had gone there to apologize to her and finally set things right. He hadn't meant to make her feel worse. He needed to say what he had gone there to say. "We all made mistakes. But I am not willing to let those mistakes own us. And I don't want to live the rest of my life living with anymore mistakes. And losing you would be a mistake. The biggest mistake I could ever make. I am not going to lose you because of anger or fear or lack of forgiveness. We've already lost too much time."

"But how can you forgive me?"

He put his hand on her cheek. She tilted her head against his hand and closed her eyes. It felt good to feel him so close to her again.

"Because when I thought about what you did…what you sacrificed…I realized that I would have done the same thing," he answered.

"No you wouldn't have. You would have come up with some big plan to save everyone and none of this would have happened."

"If I thought lying to you or sacrificing myself without telling you or even trusting Luke would have saved you, Grover, Tyson, everybody…I would have done in a heartbeat."

She shook her head, not believing him. Of course she knew that he would do anything to save them, but he never would have told so many lies.

"But you were right. I was being selfish. I didn't really stop to think about the prophecy, Percy. All I cared about was finding Luke and clearing his name. All I wanted to do was prove that he was good and not evil like everyone thought, but I was wrong. I was so wrong."

A tear rolled down her cheek. Percy caught it with his thumb.

"You did what you thought you had to do and I can't blame you for that."

"If I had just…"

He put his finger against her lips.

"We can't change the past, Annabeth. We can only look towards the future." A steady stream of tears began to fall from her eyes. She had finally let herself go. "What? Why are you crying?" He asked.

"I…" She couldn't form words. He had said everything she had hoped he would say, but she was still afraid.

"What?"

"I don't deserve you, Percy," she said.

"You deserve so much more than you'll ever know," he replied, scooting closer to her on the bed.

"No I don't."

"You have to forgive yourself, Annabeth."

"I can't."

"If you don't forgive yourself, he'll haunt you for the rest of your life."

"But what I did, what happened to me…I have no one to blame but myself."

Percy cupped his hand around his chin and looked into her eyes.

"You can't blame yourself for what he did. The only person to blame is Luke."

"I don't know if I'll ever be able to forget," she sobbed.

"We can't forget the past. All we can do is learn from it, live in the moment, and look towards the future. And I'm asking you, Annabeth, to live in this moment with me."

She nodded and leaned against his shoulder, sobbing. He wrapped his arms around her, allowing the last ten years of emotions drain on his shoulder.

"I love you," she whispered against his body.

"What?"

She picked up her head and dried her tears with her hand. "I love you. I've always loved you. And I'm so sorry that I've caused you so much pain and that I've hurt you and…"

"Annabeth," he interrupted.

"Yes?"

"I love you, too."

Percy slowly leaned towards her. She closed her eyes as their lips met slowly and softly. It felt like their first kiss all over again, full of hope, fear, and love. She fell back on the bed as he toppled onto her, kissing her with so much passion and love and forgiveness. Annabeth's tears disappeared as she felt Percy's hand running through her hand, unknotting the loose bun. She had finally said it. She had finally told him what she had been feeling for her entire life. She was free. Luke no longer owned her. All of her fears and worries were out in the open and he still loved her. She couldn't have asked for anything more.

"Percy?" She whispered as Percy kissing a trail down her neck.

"Mm?" He moaned in response. He didn't want to talk anymore. He just wanted to feel.

"Would you promise me something?"

He stopped kissing her and looked into her eyes.

"Anything."

"Promise me we'll go back there someday."

"Back where?"

"To Camp."

He looked at her inquisitively. "Why?"

"Because I don't want to be afraid of camp anymore, Percy. I don't want it to hurt anymore." She paused. "And I want to go back to the place where we first fell in love. Promise we'll go."

He leaned down and kissed her gently. "I promise."

"When we're ready," she added.

"When we're ready," he agreed. "Now let me ask you a question."

"What?"

"How long do you think Thalia will be out?"

"I don't know…at least an hour or so."

He brushed a strand of hair away from her face. "Good."

"Why?"

"Because we have a lot of lost time to make up for."

"Ten years worth," she added.

"Then we better start now."

He captured her lips and they started making up for the ten years they had lost.

Author's Note: I told you I was a sucker for happy endings! So, in the original plan of this story (wow, that seems like a really long time ago) I was going to end it here, but I've got one more chapter up my sleeve. Thank you for all of your patience in these last few weeks. I hope this chapter was worth the wait!


	23. Chapter 23

**Epilogue**

6 Months Later

Annabeth placed the ruler on the paper and drew an eight inch line. She drew another line parallel to the first. She glanced over at an architect book and erased one of the lines. Frustrated, she drew the same line again a centimeter closer to the first line she had drawn. Happier with the placement of the new line, she drew two more lines, making a box. She stared at the box for a good five minutes. It may have only been a box, but to her it was the beginning of a possible architectural masterpiece and everything had to be perfect.

After finally deciding that the box was as good as it was going to get, Annabeth glanced at the clock. Three AM. She cursed herself for waking up with the idea for a beautiful, four bedroom house in the middle of the night when she knew she had to get up early for her eight AM class. She had tried to go back to sleep, even curling up against Percy's body, which usually helped, but the idea just wouldn't go way. Creativity never did take no for an answer.

Even though the eight o'clock architecture class that Annabeth taught at the local university was all too early for her liking, she loved it. She loved it even more than she loved teaching at Roosevelt. She felt as if she had finally found her calling. She enjoyed seeing the creations her students would come up with and she loved helping them develop their ideas. She also was enjoying the fact that they inspired her to create her own works of art. Like the one she had woken up at two hours earlier, dying to work on.

"Couldn't sleep?"

Annabeth nearly fell off the stool she was sitting on. She looked over at the doorway where Percy was standing in only a pair of pajama pants.

"You scared me," she replied, putting her pencil down.

"Sorry."

She stared at him. She didn't mean to, but she couldn't help it. She was still mesmerized by how beautiful he was and was still at awe over the fact that she got to wake up next to him almost every morning. They weren't officially living together, but Annabeth spent more time at his apartment than she did her own.

"I should be the one who's sorry," she finally said, tearing her eyes away from him. "I didn't mean to wake you."

He shrugged and yawned at the same time.

"You didn't."

"Liar," she said, smiling.

"Okay, so maybe you did wake me, but I don't mind." He ran his hands through his hair. "What I do mind is waking up without you."

"Well, I'll make sure it doesn't happen again."

This time they both smiled, knowing that waking up in the wee hours of the morning was something that Annabeth did frequently. She worked best in the early AM.

Percy walked over to her and kissed her on the top of the head. He looked over her shoulder at the paper she was drawing on.

"What are you working on?" He asked.

"This new design that sort of just…popped into my head. But it's not exactly coming out the way I wanted."

She pointed to the wastebasket beside her desk that was full of crumpled up papers. Percy bent over and picked one of them up. He flattened out the paper and began to examine the drawing.

"Is it a house?"

She nodded.

"It's amazing. Annabeth, the lines, the shapes…it's incredible. This is some of the best work I've seen you do."

"Oh really?" She asked flirtatiously.

Percy put the paper down on top of the one she had been working on.

"Well, let's put it this way. It's the best work I've seen you do outside of the bedroom."

"Thank you."

"So are you going to tell me why it's in the garbage?"

She shrugged. "I've just got this image in my head and…"

"And, what?" She didn't answer because she had no answer. The picture she had been working on was the exact image in her head, but it scared her. Percy didn't push her to respond. "Maybe I can help put a different image in your head."

Percy whirled Annabeth's chair around so that she was facing him. He leaned over and kissed her long and hard.

"You are amazing," he stated.

He kissed her again, his hand working from her waist up underneath the T-Shirt she was wearing. It was another one of his shirts. He loved when she wore his shirts.

Annabeth somehow managed to stand up without breaking their kiss so that she was more at his height. She ran her hands over his chest, took one last kiss, and pushed him away.

"I have work to do," she said.

"Can't it wait?"

She sat back down in her chair. She didn't want to stop kissing her, but the creative juices were flowing through her veins and she wanted to use them while she still had them.

"Tell you what? You let me work for another hour and I promise you, I'll make it up to you."

Percy crossed his arms over his chest. "Uh-uh," he said. "No way."

"What?"

"You've said that before."

"Said what before?"

"One day at camp you promised me that you would take a walk with me after dinner and when I asked you to go, you said that you had promised Thalia you'd hang out with her and that you'd make it up to me. You never did."

Annabeth's jaw nearly dropped. "How do you remember that?"

"I remember everything."

"Well, as you've clearly stated many times over, we are different people now than we were when we were kids and I promise you I will make it up to you."

Percy reached for her hand and pulled her off the stool.

"Nope, I'm not falling for that again." He pulled her against his body and kissed her.

"How about this instead?" Annabeth asked, wrapping her arms around his neck as his arms came around her waist. "If you let me work now, I promise you we'll take that walk on the lake."

"At camp?"

"Do you know of any other lakes we used to hang out at?"

"I just…I wasn't sure when you'd be ready to go back."

She looked up at him. "I'm ready."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Then I guess we're going back to camp."

"I guess we are."

"I'm going to hold you to your promise, you know. The only reason I'm letting you out of this is because I want to take a long walk on the lake with you and only you. No mythical creatures, no tag-alongs, just me and you."

"I never said it was going to be a long walk," she responded.

"Those are my terms. Take them or leave them."

She smiled. "I guess I'll have to take them."

"Good."

He kissed her lightly. "Can I watch you work?"

He loved to watch her work. He loved how her hands glided the pencil smoothly over the paper. How her eyebrows gathered closer together when she was concentrating. And, most of all, he loved how, when she did something that she wasn't sure of, she would stare at it for minutes at a time. He caught her staring at him in that way several times as if wondering if she wasn't sure if what they had together was real and lasting. He knew she still doubted herself and her ability to make him happy, but he never doubted it. She did make him happy in every sense of the word.

"Do you promise not to distract me?"

He nodded. "Promise."

He let go of her and she did the same with him. She returned to her stool and swirled back to the drafting table. Picking up her pencil again, she stared at the drawing that she had thrown away, but that Percy had picked up and laid out on the table. She hadn't told him that the reason the image that was in her head scared her was because the image included her and Percy living there together. It was the house she had designed for them.

*****

"Are you ready?" He asked her, squeezing her hand.

"You keep asking me that."

"Well, I just want to be sure."

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be," she stated. He leaned over and kissed her lightly on the lips. "What was that for?"

"To remind you that we're in this together," he said. "And because I like kissing you."

Her cheeks turned red as Percy stroked her cheek with his finger. Annabeth would have been content staying right there in his arms, but she knew that there were more important things to do.

"Let's go home," she said.

Percy nodded. He opened the door to the cab and got out. Holding out his hand, he pulled Annabeth out of the cab and to her feet. He slammed the door closed and turned around. Never letting go of each others hands, they both looked around.

"It looks…" Percy began.

"The same," Annabeth finished.

They were both staring at the entrance of camp. Of course no one else, besides other half-bloods, knew that the camp even existed. When Percy had told the cab driver where to take them, the man looked at Percy like he had ten heads. He couldn't understand why two people would want to get out in the middle of nowhere. But he wasn't paid to understand. He was paid to drive so that's what he did. The cab driver had no idea that the nothingness he saw was actually a place that was home to dozens of children who were trying to find their place in the world. Nor did he know that inside the camp, battles had been fought, enemies had been made, and young love had blossomed.

"It's been so long," Percy commented.

"Too long," Annabeth agreed.

Percy secured his arm around Annabeth's waist and they walked together towards the entrance. As they entered the familiar place that they had once called home, they both smiled. Everything seemed to be exactly the same. Campers walked around them, chatting with each other and otherwise basically ignoring Percy and Annabeth's presence. There were a group of campers to the right practicing their sword fighting while Percy could hear a group of archers in the distance.

They walked slowly to the main building, taking in everything. For some reason they had expected it to have changed in their absence, but nothing had changed. There were still the usual sights, sounds, and smells.

Stopping at the bottom of the porch, Annabeth squeezed Percy's hand.

"This is where we first met," she said quietly.

"You mean the time I was half dead and your nursed me back to health?"

"Yeah, that would be it."

"I don't know if I ever thanked you for saving my life," he stated.

"I'd say we're even."

Annabeth stood at the bottom of the steps, staring at the closed door. She hadn't walked through the threshold in a very long time.

"You look nervous," Percy commented.

"That's because I am."

"Why?"

She shrugged. "What if everyone knows what I did?"

"Then they'll know how brave and smart and incredible you are," he whispered into her ear.

"How is it that you always manage to say something romantic at just the right moment?"

"Just blessed I guess."

He smirked and Annabeth rolled her eyes, secretly smiling. She loved how incredibly romantic. He did always know exactly what to do and say. He was the perfect boyfriend, sending her flowers when she least expected it, taking her out to the best restaurants, and even occasionally cooking her romantic dinners. After ten years of being afraid, she was finally able to be who she was and able to be with the person she loved.

Staring at the steps that led up to the main building, Annabeth took a deep breath.

"It's not too late," Percy said, putting his hand comfortably on her lower back. "We could turn back."

"No. I want to do this. I need to do this. And so do you. This journey is about both of us."

"Have I told you recently that I love you?"

That was all it took. Annabeth got the boost she needed to take the first steps. Knowing that Percy loved her no matter what made facing her past easier. She began to climb the stairs slowly with Percy matching every step. He pushed the front door open and stopped. Chirion sat in his wheelchair before them with a large smile on his face.

"Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase." Chirion said, his eyes beaming, his smile growing wider by the second. He wheeled closer to them. He put out his arms and Annabeth stepped closer to him, hugging him.

"It's so good to see you, Chirion," Annabeth said. All of her worries slid away upon seeing his face. She finally felt at home again.

"And you," Chirion replied.

Annabeth stepped back and Percy stepped forward. Chirion reached for his hand.

"Percy Jackson. It has been too long."

"Yes, it has," Percy agreed.

"Come, let's talk." Chirion turned and wheeled into the other room. He pulled himself in front of the couch. "Sit, sit." Both Annabeth and Percy sat on the couch next to each other, again holding hands.

"I'm surprised you recognized us," Annabeth said.

"You never forget your two favorite students," Chirion stated. "And besides, Grover was never very good at keeping secrets." He smirked.

"He told you we were coming?"

"Let's just say he let it slip," Chirion explained.

"I told him not to tell you," Percy insisted.

"I'm glad he did. It gave me something to look forward to. Besides, at my age, surprises don't always go over so well."

"You don't look a day older than I remember," Annabeth complimented.

Chirion patted her on the knee. "Thank you. But you two have changed. You're not children anymore. And I see there have been some other developments." He pointed to their intertwined hands. "I was wondering how long it would take you two to find each other."

"It was a little longer than even we expected," Annabeth replied.

"The best things in life come to those who wait. Well, tell me about yourselves. Percy, Grover tells me that you're a teacher."

"That's right. History."

"Now how did a boy who got kicked out of every school he went to end up being a history teacher?"

Percy laughed and began to tell him.

*****

Hours later, Percy and Annabeth had told Chirion all about what they were doing and how they had finally gotten together, although they left out the part about Annabeth being afraid to be with him and the fight that nearly tore them apart. Chirion filled them in on life at camp and how he was thinking of retiring. Both Annabeth and Percy convinced him that no one could do as good a job at Camp Half-blood as he did. After talking, Chirion invited them to have dinner with him and the rest of the camp in the dining hall.

It felt nostalgic to be back in such a familiar place as the dining hall. Although everything there was the same just as with everything else in camp, things were different. Both Annabeth and Percy heard the whispers of the kids at camp as they would walk by. Everyone knew who Percy Jackson was and they all knew that he had finally returned. He was the one who saved camp. Percy usually hated being the center of attention, but with Annabeth at his side, he didn't seem to mind. The best part of being back in the dining hall was that Percy and Annabeth were no longer segregated by god or goddess. Instead, they got to enjoy their first full meal together ever in the hall.

"I couldn't believe how that girl was ogling over you," Annabeth stated, laughing.

They were walking hand in hand by the lake. The sun was beginning to set, the sky turning a purplish pink.

"She was not."

"Oh yes she was. How old do you think she was? Fifteen?"

"What can I say? I'm a lady's man."

"Yeah, you wish."

"Well, I got the most important lady, didn't I?"

"Keep in mind, I'm only doing this because I promised," she teased.

"Well, in that case, I mine as well make the most of it."

He stopped walking and kissed her. Kissing her was still the best part of his day. When they both came up for air, Annabeth turned so she was facing the lake. Percy stood behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders, massaging them gently.

"It's so beautiful here," Annabeth commented. "Just like I remember it."

"Being here with you makes it all the more beautiful."

Pushing her hair aside, he began to kiss her neck.

"Do you remember how many times we sat at this lake talking about plans and adventures and our future?"

"I remember sitting here with you thinking how beautiful you were."

Annabeth turned and playfully hit him in the chest. "You're full of it, you know that?"

He laughed. "I know. But I did think you were beautiful. I still do."

He cupped his hands on either side of her face and leaned down, pressing his lips against hers. The kiss was soft, slow, and sensual. There was no rush, no fierce impact. It was just two people sharing the first of many kisses to come in such a beautiful and memorable location.

"I've been dreaming about kissing you in front of this lake for a very long time," Percy said.

"Well, I'm here to make your dreams come true," she replied, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him again.

"You already have made my dreams come true."

She laughed out loud. She laughed so hard that tears came to her eyes.

"What?" He asked.

"Do you realize how corny that sounded, seaweed brain?" She asked after she had regained her composure.

"Well, how's this for corny?"

Percy took Annabeth's left hand and held it between his own two hands.

"Percy, what are you…"

"I love you, Annabeth. I have loved you since I was twelve years old. You are everything I have ever wanted and more. You are beautiful and smart and loving and incredible. You make me a better person. You complete me, Annabeth."

He reached into his pocket. Annabeth gasped, knowing what he was reaching for. But instead of a ring or a box, he pulled out a folded up piece of paper. He unfolded it slowly. Annabeth took one look at it and tears began to fall. It was the picture she had drawn of the house that she had thrown in the garbage, but that Percy had retrieved.

"Where did you…?"

"I found it tucked under a bunch of books," he answered. "I want to make a life with you, Annabeth. I want to make a life with you in this house." He pointed to the picture. "I want to wake up next to you every morning in the house that you made so that I always remember how lucky I am."

He got down on one knee and this time, when he reached into his pocket, he pulled a small, black, velvet box out.

Annabeth gasped a second time. "Oh my…"

"Annabeth Chase, will you marry me?"

She felt like she couldn't breathe. Hearing him say those words felt like the first time they had kissed only one hundred times better. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. As tears streamed down her cheek, she nodded.

"Yes?" He asked.

"Yes!"

He jumped to his feet, wrapped his arms around her waist, and swept her off her feet, twirling her in a circle.

"I love you," he whispered when he finally set her back on the ground again. He slipped the solitaire diamond ring on her finger. It was a perfect fit.

"I love you, too."

When they kissed, it was the most brilliant they had ever shared.

"You made that house for us, didn't you?"

"Let's just say that I did have a certain couple in mind when I was designing it. Do you really want to live in this house?"

"More than anything."

"It doesn't actually exist you know."

"Then we'll have to build it. We'll build it somewhere where we can be completely alone."

"But, not too far away from your mother."

He laughed. "No, not that far away."

"Thank you," she said.

"For what?"

"For loving me."

"I'm the one who should be thanking you." He held up her left hand and stared at it. "Now you've made all my dreams come true.

They kissed again.

"All of them?" She asked.

"Well…there is this one…dream."

"Oh?"

"It's not so much as a dream, as a…"

"A what?"

He leaned in and whispered something into her ear, causing her to blush. This time she hit him harder on the chest, the diamond on her finger sparkling in the twilight.

"Are you suggesting, Seaweed Brain that I break camp rules and sneak out of my cabin to have a midnight rendezvous with you?"

"Yes, future Mrs. Seaweed Brain. That is exactly what I'm suggesting."

She smiled and crushed her lips into his. "Good."

Author's Note: Well, that's it! Let me start off by apologizing for the length of this author's note, but I have a lot I would like to say.

First and foremost, as far as this chapter was concerned, I apologize for making you wait. I wrote and rewrote the beginning of this chapter at least ten times. I wanted to make the ending really great and, as many people requested, I tried to make it a longer chapter than some of my other ones. I really hoped you liked it.

Secondly, thank you to all of my reviewers. I have never before received so much positive feedback on any of my stories. Honestly the responses I have received were overwhelming at times (in a good way). I appreciated every single one of them.

For all of you who have complimented me on my writing abilities, I thank you. Writing for me is the most amazing part of my day. I'm glad I could share my passion with you. And who knows, maybe one day I will actually publish a book.

Lastly, the ending of this story is bittersweet for me. In a way, I am happy that it is finally over and I can go back to paying attention at work and doing my homework, but, at the same time, I am also sad because this story has been a big part of my life. I honestly think that it has been one of my greatest writing achievements. Not only that, but this story has been a labor of love for me for close to three months so it has been hard to let it go.

I don't know if I will ever again write a Percy Jackson story. I know some people have asked that I write a sequel, but I'm just not sure at this point if that will happen. I only ever write what pops into my head and as of right now, I don't have any other stories in the works, but that doesn't mean that inspiration won't hit me tomorrow.


End file.
